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The Itinerancy 

Its Power and Peril 



BY 



■^ 



JAMES A. HENSEY 

INTRODUCTION BY 
JOSEPH B. HINGELEY 




THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN 
NEW YORK CINCINNATI 



£ 

^%K 



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Copyright, 1918, by 
JAMES A. HENSEY 



M* 



9i 



r X 






MAR 25 1918 

©CI.A494227 



V 

i 



DEDICATION 

TO THE REV. AUSTIN M. COURTENAY, D.D., 
WHOSE LONG AND USEFUL MINISTRY EXEM- 
PLIFIES THE UTILITY OF THE ITINERANCY, 
WHOSE HIGH QUALITIES OF HEAD AND HEART 
HAVE LONG ENDEARED HIM TO THE CHURCH, 
AND WHOSE SELECTION OF THE WRITER AS 
HIS ASSISTANT AT A CRITICAL PERIOD IN HIS 
CAREER WAS THE PROVIDENTIAL BEGINNING 
OF A FELLOWSHIP THAT HAS GREATLY 
ENRICHED HIS LIFE, THIS WORK IS AFFEC- 
TIONATELY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Dedication 5 

Introduction 11-13 

Preface 15-17 

CHAPTER I 
ORIGIN OP THE ITINERANCY 

Historical data — English Protestantism decadent 
— American crisis — Two undesigned results — 
Episcopal Methodism the child of mature 
thought — Structural changes in American 
Methodism — Presiding eldership — A logical se- 
quence 19-30 

CHAPTER II 

THE ITINERANCY— WHAT IT IS AND 
WHAT IT DOES 

No longer an experiment — Apostolic — Funda- 
mental requirements — A system — Initiatory- 
power — Cultivates the whole field — Demands 
efficiency — Prevents stagnation — The itiner- 
ancy in practice, what it does and how 31-58 

CHAPTER III 
THE EPISCOPACY 

Origin — Modification — Should the decisions of 
the Cabinet be decided by ballot? — Indepen- 
7 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 



dence of the appointing power; is it either de- 
sirable or necessary? — Life vs. term episcopacy 
— Evolution in administration — Residential 
areas, legal, logical, and necessary 59-85 

CHAPTER IV 

THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

Origin — Utility — Opinion of Abel Stevens, D.D.— 
Elective eldership adopted — Suspended — Aban- 
doned — Advantages of the appointive superin- 
tendency — Dangerous if elective — Principles in 
selection — Removal of the time limit — Chang- 
ing functions — Vice-Episcopal office — Type of 
men needed 87-115 

CHAPTER V 

THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 
(Continued) 

The superintendent untaught — Suggestions as 
to administration — Promoting preachers — Ap- 
praising men anew — Acquaintance with the 
churches — Calls and invitations — Consulting 
the Quarterly Conference — A rock of offense — 
An unsafe standard — Encouraging young 
preachers — Justice to all — Variety in adminis- 
tration — Special campaigns 116-150 

CHAPTER VI 
THE CABINET 

Origin — Powers — Influence of the district super- 
intendent — Controlling its personnel — Possible 
8 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

peril in centralized authority — The bishop in 
the Cabinet — Desirable Episcopal character- 
istics — The superintendent in the Cabinet: 
spokesman for his district, having a plan, 
making promises, the status quo for each 
preacher as a minimum, caring for the over- 
looked, advancing worthy men, exchanging su- 
perior for inferior preachers, a threefold task 
— District boundaries — The superintendent's 
relation to transfers and calls — Responsibility 
of the authorities — Problems of the Cabinet — 
Selection for promotion — Justice to all — Cabi- 
net indispensable — Middle grade men 151-211 

CHAPTER VII 
THE ITINERANT IN THE ITINERANCY 

Apostolic — Is the itinerant a distinct type? — A 
"called" man — The authority of personal ex- 
perience — Evangelistic emphasis — Rooted in 
the fundamentals — Devoted to the Itinerancy 
— First year in the ministry — A preacher's 
place in an Annual Conference — How it hap- 
pens — What the preachers say — Promotion 
based upon merit — The fundamental question 
— Opinion of one's fellow preachers — Personal 
friendship — Personal antagonisms — Relation 
to the district superintendent — Its significance 
— Attitude toward the superintendent — Pre- 
pare for his coming — Loyalty to the district 
— In touch with headquarters — The next ap- 
pointment — Staying qualities — Personal equa- 
tion — "[Inadaptability — 111 temper — Importance 

of small ministries — Personal habits 212-255 

9 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

CHAPTER VIII 
THE PERILS OF THE ITINERANCY 

Limitations universal — Alleged weaknesses: pro- 
motes restlessness, intellectual indolence, self- 
ishness in administration, too systematic, a 
governing aristocracy, elusive responsibility — 
Difficulties, not perils — Two inherent weak- 
nesses 256-273 

CHAPTER IX 
ACCIDENT OR PROVIDENCE? 

Which alternative? — Old and New Testament 
polities — A historical necessity — Efficiency in- 
herent in the itinerancy — Escaping dangerous 
modifications — A modern appeal to an ancient 
standard 274-287 



10 



INTRODUCTION 

The subject of this book and the book itself 
greatly interest me. The graphic account of the 
itinerancy — what it is and what it does — is a 
splendid tonic for the discouraged "blue Monday" 
Methodist preacher, and invokes a spirit of thank- 
fulness that the early call to another denomina- 
tion was not heeded. The manner in which the 
itinerancy accomplishes the efficient distribution 
of the ministers, putting every man just where he 
belongs, brings one to the enthusiastic conclusion 
that it is best not only for the preacher, but also 
for the people and for the Kingdom. To it must 
be attributed that brotherhood among Methodist 
preachers, unlike that of any other denomination. 

While Methodism is of the people and belongs 
to the people, yet vast power is concentrated in 
the hands of the episcopacy, though somewhat 
modified by time and the increasing responsibility 
of the bishops to the General Conference. Any 
study of the superintendency would necessarily 
include the general superintendency of the 
bishops, and the special superintendency of the 
district superintendents. 

The younger men who are now being clothed 
with the responsibility of the district superintend- 
ency will greatly appreciate the wise suggestions 

11 



INTRODUCTION 

of this book concerning the discharge of their re- 
sponsible duties. Even the change of the name 
from presiding elder to district superintendent is 
significant of a change in the office itself. The 
average district superintendent is a more efficient 
officer than was the average presiding elder. He 
has injected into his administration some of the 
intensity which is involved in the etymology of 
the word itself, namely, "superintendent — one 
who stretches himself over" — his work. It may 
be true, as some have suggested, that a real super- 
vision makes smaller bishops and larger superin- 
tendents, but it is undoubtedly true that the dis- 
trict superintendency is a larger office than it 
ever was before. The district superintendent is 
the adviser and father confessor of young minis- 
ters. By kindly help, wise suggestions, and even 
correction, the thoughtful young pastor becomes 
obligated to the faithful superintendent, who 
knows his men, their strength and weakness, and 
who stands by them. The superintendent who 
cares for his preachers will find the preachers car- 
ing for the churches. 

It is easy to magnify limitations, but all of the 
twenty presiding elders who were my associates 
in the Cabinet had a uniform desire to strengthen 
the Kingdom, and lucky indeed the young district 
superintendent who finds a Bishop Merrill at the 
head of the table and a long-headed John F. Chaffee 

12 



INTRODUCTION 

at his side. The nervous fear that his more ex- 
perienced brother will take advantage of his in- 
experience will disappear, and he will find that 
the real superintendent has a carefully digested 
plan, not only for his own district, but which 
considers the general welfare of the work. 

It would be a pleasure to summarize the vari- 
ous chapters, and show how they deal, in an in- 
teresting and convincing way, with all the phases 
and activities of the itinerancy. This book ought 
to interest every Methodist, whether preacher or 
layman, for it deals in the most intimate fashion 
with the inter-relations of the itinerancy. Per- 
haps I may be permitted to say that the chapters 
on "The Cabinet," "The Itinerant in the Itiner- 
ancy," "The Perils of the Itinerancy," and "Acci- 
dent or Providence" demand special praise. 

Dr. Hensey's nervous, epigrammatic, accumula- 
tive style enables him to mass his materials with 
great skill, and the reader will find himself 
gripped as by the hands of an interesting ro- 
mance. Every Methodist, after reading this book, 
will be ready to renew his allegiance to the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church, and especially to the one 
great peculiarity developed by all types of Meth- 
odism — the itinerancy. 

Joseph B. Hingeley. 

Chicago, Illinois, 
December 22, 1917. 
13 



PREFACE 

Always unique, time has emphasized the effi- 
ciency of the itinerancy among the ecclesiastical 
systems of the world. 

While the achievements of the itinerancy are 
an open book, the secret springs of its power and 
interior modus operandi are only too often ob- 
jects of conjecture and misunderstanding by 
those who should know it the best and appreciate 
its deeds the most. 

The author does not hesitate to deal frankly 
with the most intimate phases of the itinerancy. 
The system has suffered because its "out-of-sight" 
processes have been poorly understood by minis- 
try and laity. Rumors, ill-founded conjectures, 
and foolish suspicions thrive in an atmosphere 
of silence and secrecy. 

The opinion is ventured that prevailing criti- 
cisms of the itinerancy, especially when leveled 
against the episcopacy and district superinten- 
dency, are based upon misconception. Collecting 
fog in baskets would be a futile method of eradi- 
cation. Let the sun rise, and the fogs will go. 

When the church knows the truth — the whole 
truth — about the itinerancy; when all of its 

15 



PREFACE 

processes are brought into the light; when the 
reasons for, and the method of, the annual distri- 
bution of its army of itinerants are clearly under- 
stood, serious criticism will disappear like mists 
before the rising sun. There is nothing about the 
itinerancy that need be hidden or spoken of in 
whispers. It was born in the light, and thrives 
best when its processes are known and its con- 
trollers are both fearless and frank. 

Neither apology nor explanation is offered for 
the untrammeled discussion of all questions relat- 
ing to the operation of the itinerancy. If this end 
has not been achieved, the original intention has 
miscarried. This manuscript has not been writ- 
ten hastily or carelessly, and no confidence is vio- 
lated in stating that it has been subjected to long 
and critical scrutiny before being accepted for 
publication. 

The author is under heavy obligation to Bishop 
Joseph F. Berry, D.D., LL.D., the Rev. George C. 
Wilding, D.D., and the Rev. Charles Sumner 
Kemble, A.M., B.D., for their careful perusal of 
the various revisions of the manuscript, and wise 
suggestions concerning the development of the 
theme, and especially to the latter for the correc- 
tion of various verbal errata. 

Believing that the better understanding of the 
itinerancy will enhance its power, and strengthen 
the hands of those intrusted with its operation, 

16 



PREFACE 

and humbly praying that the Head of the church 
may bless the message to the accomplishment of 
these ends, the author sends this work upon its 
mission. 

James A. Hensby. 
Binghamton, N. Y., 
January 1, 1918. 



17 



CHAPTER I 
ORIGIN OF THE ITINERANCY 

The genesis of a movement is often shrouded 
in mystery or its earliest memorials are tantaliz- 
ingly obscure. The results can be measured and 
the processes by which they were achieved under- 
stood, but the distant causes calling the new force 
into being, giving it organic form, and enabling 
it visibly to affect the course of human history, 
are often subjects of interesting but hopeless 
speculation. 

Few memorials of the Methodist movement are 
either obscure or missing. Its logical develop- 
ment can be traced step by step from its birth in 
the virile brain, eager heart, and flaming soul of 
one man — John Wesley — to its far-flung battle 
trenches reaching to the ends of the earth. 

This story need not be told. That has been 
done many times, fully, interestingly, and fas- 
cinatingly, by facile pens and brilliant minds. 
Its forensic achievements, theological triumphs, 
educational conquests, and evangelistic victories 
comprise an oft and well-told tale. 

19 



THE ITINERANCY 

But it does come within the purview of the sub- 
ject to inquire into the causes for the quick re- 
sponse of the English-speaking world to the evan- 
gelistic message of the early itinerants, and to 
learn the secret of that efficient organization 
which so swiftly garnered the fruits of one of the 
most widespread and beneficent intellectual and 
spiritual awakenings that have ever blessed hu- 
man society. These causes may be quickly sum- 
marized : 

The Low State of Religion in England and 
America 

The situation was menacing. English Protes- 
tantism was in ebb tide. Vital religion was 
flouted by preachers and derided by the popu- 
lace. The great doctrines of the Reformation had 
become meaningless phrases. The apostolic gos- 
pel, reintroduced by the German and Swiss re- 
formers, had suffered eclipse. The clergy of the 
Established Church were generally addicted to 
card-playing, fox-hunting, horse-racing, and were 
noted for their devotion to the flowing bowl. 
Their services were droned, for the most part, to 
empty pews. Religion was only remotely related 
to life. The masses had drifted out of the 
churches, established and dissenting, and it did 
not seem as though they could be won back. An 
eminent churchman of that period, Isaac Taylor, 

20 



ORIGIN OF THE ITINERANCY 

says when Wesley appeared the Anglican Church 
was "an ecclesiastical system under which the 
people of England had lapsed into heathenism, 
or a state hardly to be distinguished from it," 
and that Methodism "preserved from extinction 
the languishing nonconformity of the last cen- 
tury, which, just at the time of the Methodist 
revival, was rapidly in course to be found no- 
where but in books." 

The long reign of Calvinism in America 
had produced results little less alarming. Reli- 
gion was a negligible factor in the young nation's 
life. If the whole matter of salvation had been 
predetermined without the possibility of either 
mistake or change, why need one give the subject 
attention? Results would be unavoidable and 
according to schedule! 

The situation in America was rendered addi- 
tionally hazardous by the rapid settlement of a 
virgin continent. The restless frontiersmen 
eagerly followed the footsteps of the setting sun. 
The woodman's ax broke the stillness of the pri- 
meval forest; the crunching wheels of the "prairie 
schooner" carried the pioneer onward and out- 
ward, while new communities were dotting the 
continent as the stars crowd the skies. Existing 
denominations had neither message nor method 
adequate to the situation. The nonevangelistic 
message of the churches ; the long preparation for 

21 



THE ITINERANCY 

the ministry generally demanded by all the 
denominations; the life-pastorate, then in vogue, 
with its candidating and calling, presented a 
threefold difficulty which, without the providen- 
tial intervention of Methodism, might have 
doomed the American continent to moral and 
spiritual darkness. 

Spiritual Emphasis op the New Movement 

If Methodism had been an intellectual vagary, 
a doctrinal revamp, or simply an introducer of 
new modes of worship and methods of work, the 
cycle of its influence would long since have been 
finished, and its history written. But Methodism 
was a spiritual revolution. It originated in an 
earnest yearning for spiritual peace and personal 
holiness. Its progenitor was not a daring inno- 
vator, an ambitious ecclesiastic, nor a disap- 
pointed seeker of religious beneficies. His eye 
was single: to lead a holy life himself, and spread 
scriptural holiness over the world. 

"For three quarters of a century," wrote the 
Rev. Dr. Barrows, a non-Methodist, in 1866, 
"Methodism has been the breath of God blowing 
across the continent, refreshing and reviving faint 
and dying souls, giving new life to millions and 
changing the condition of the religious atmos- 
phere of the world." 

"The breath of God blowing across the conti- 



ORIGIN OF THE ITINERANCY 

Dent"! The highest of all possible encomiums, 
but anything less would not be the whole truth. 
The spiritual triumphs of early Christianity were 
repeated. With its deep consciousness of spirit- 
ual realities; its abhorrence of sin; its conviction 
of the moral guilt of all, with no possibility of 
self-recovery; its unyielding faith in an atone- 
ment deserved by none, but intended for all, and 
all-sufficient; its intellectual recoil from the doc- 
trine of divine partiality; its belief in regenera- 
tion — the possible restoration of every soul to its 
lost equilibrium; its clear sense of the witness 
of the Spirit to personal redemption; its deep 
joy, flowing like a river in flood, full and satisfy- 
ing; its clarion call to immediate repentance, 
insistence upon immediate faith, and promise of 
immediate forgiveness; its "sweet communion, 
solemn vows," thrilling songs, stirring testi- 
monies, sympathetic fellowship — ah! is it any 
wonder that Methodism was awakening, compel- 
ling? Ridicule swelled its ranks, and persecution 
only solidified its following. It was ancient 
Christianity in modern times. 

A New and Efficient Economy 

John Wesley was not a speculator in methods, 
but a daring follower of the fugitive intimations 
and suggestions of Providence. He had a keen 
and open mind. Systematic rather than enthu- 



THE ITINERANCY 

siastic, methodical rather than emotional, keenly 
intellectual, deeply spiritual — his head was ever 
above the fogs, and his feet always upon the solid 
earth. 

Wesley had no preconceived plan for the 
organization of his followers, or for the develop- 
ment of the work daily growing more formidable. 
He originally contemplated nothing more than 
the spiritual quickening of the mother church. 
But the new wine could not be put in old bottles. 
The dynamic force of the new movement could not 
be denied self-expression. It could no more be 
a "sect" in the Established Church than Chris- 
tianity could have lived as a "sect" in Judaism. 
In each case it was not a new phase of thought 
or mode of worship, but a new life struggling for 
breath, and demanding opportunity for growth 
and development. The establishment has often 
regretted its hostility to the Wesleys and their 
coreligionists, evidently thinking that the new 
cloth could have been sewed onto the old garment. 
But separation was both inevitable and desirable. 
The old order could not adjust itself to the new 
interpretation, and the new ideas could not ex- 
press themselves in the old modes. It was better 
for both, and infinitely better for the world, that 
each should go its way unhindered by the 
other. 

The itinerancy is the distinguishing feature of 
24 



ORIGIN OF THE ITINERANCY 

Methodist economy, a startling innovation, the 
chief agency in its rapid spread, and the princi- 
pal source of its present power. The itinerancy 
was neither forethought nor afterthought, but 
logical sequence. Wesley expected help from 
the established clergy, but was soon disillusioned 
by their bitter antagonism. Little groups of fol- 
lowers began to appear in scattered communities. 
Wesley was indefatigable, but he could not 
be omnipresent. The converts were largely from 
the humbler walks of life — colliers, cobblers, la- 
borers, farmers, small tradesmen, and village folk, 
without education or social position. Rebuffed 
by the regular clergy, and without consecutive 
spiritual oversight, their position was indeed a 
precarious one. 

"What," Wesley asks, "was to be done in 
a case of such extreme necessity, where so many 
souls lay at stake? No clergyman would assist 
at all. The expedient that remained was to seek 
some one among themselves who was upright of 
heart and sound of judgment in the things of 
God, and desire him to meet the rest as often as 
he could, to confirm them, as he was able, in the 
ways of God, either by reading to them or by 
prayer and exhortation." It was a short step 
from exhortation to exposition, and a shorter one 
from exposition to preaching. A lay ministry 
was the undesigned result. 

25 



THE ITINERANCY 

But a new difficulty arose. There were more 
societies than helpers. Earnest men began to 
travel from town to town, and the itinerancy — 
Methodism's right arm of power — was the second 
undesigned result. A few men covered a wide 
territory. When the labors of these men were 
systematized the whole movement assumed a 
coherency and a permanency which it has never 
lost. 

The government of English Methodism, up to 
the day of his death, was Wesley's private affair. 
He counseled with the preachers, and rendered 
a personal decision binding upon all. There 
was increasing restlessness toward the close of 
his long life, but no open rebellion. Those who 
were not pleased retired, a privilege accepted by 
not a few. Wesley stationed the preachers, and 
in doing so permitted neither discussion nor 
appeal. 

Prior to the revolution, Wesley exercised, 
through his representatives, the same undisputed 
power over the Methodist movement in the Ameri- 
can colonies, a power which he never attempted 
to regain after independence had been achieved. 
Indeed, the infirmities of advancing age, the slow 
and uncertain modes of travel and communica- 
tion, his fragmentary knowledge of the whole 
American situation, and the urgent demands of 
the new continent for an organized and responsi- 

26 



ORIGIN OF THE ITINERANCY 

ble officiary made it necessary to give the trans- 
atlantic movement organic form. This great task 
Wesley did not hesitate to undertake, and his 
influence with American Methodists was still 
sufficient to cause the acceptance of his decision 
without serious question. 

The organic structure of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church is the mature judgment of its great 
founder. Restricted by ecclesiastical environ- 
ment, by paternal and sympathetic relations to 
the church of his youth, harassed by vigilant and 
powerful critics, and embarrassed by the imma- 
turity of his own views, Wesley gave to Eng- 
lish Methodism the best form possible under the 
circumstances. In America he had a free hand. 
Long experience and deep study had clarified his 
views and settled his convictions. When the hour 
of destiny struck, Wesley was ready, and the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, the most scientifi- 
cally articulated ecclesiasticism in all the range 
of Protestantism, began its great career. 

Fully convinced that "presbyter" and "bishop" 
were synonymous terms, he yet hesitated to use 
the title "bishop" when ordaining Thomas Coke 
"superintendent" of the Methodist Church in 
America, and instructed him to proceed with the 
ordination of Francis Asbury to the same office. 
To have assumed the title of bishop for himself, 
or to have given it to Coke and Asbury, would have 

27 



THE ITINERANCY 

displeased most of his followers and alienated 
many of them, and would have clouded his last 
days with a new and bitter controversy. 

Structural Changes in American Methodism 

The episcopacy and the presiding eldership, 
now the district superintendency, are the dis- 
tinguishing governmental features of American 
Methodism. The episcopacy was a part of the 
original polity, and the district superintendency 
was quickly added. 

If Wesley had had a thousand years for 
consultation and consideration, he could not have 
bestowed a richer boon upon American Meth- 
odism than the episcopacy. It has given the 
church official, dignified, and efficient leadership. 
Prior to the coming of Dr. Coke, Francis Asbury 
held the post of leadership by a tenuous ascend- 
ancy. How much authority he should wield, and 
for how long, was being eagerly discussed by the 
itinerants. Democracy was in renaissance, the 
nations were aquiver with republican sentiments, 
and the people were reaching for the reins of 
power in state and church. 

The power of appointment, held by Francis 
Asbury under authority from Wesley, was in 
jeopardy. If that should be abridged — by no 
means an impossibility — the efficiency of Ameri- 
can Methodism would be seriously imperiled. It 



ORIGIN OF THE ITINERANCY 

is eloquent testimony to the moral influence of 
Wesley and Asbury, and also to the enlightened 
judgment of the men who composed the memora- 
ble Christmas Conference of 1784, that they were 
willing to accept a system contrary to the pre- 
vailing sentiment of the age. The experienced 
men in that Conference were well enough ac- 
quainted with the itinerancy to know that it 
could not for any great length of time survive 
the abandonment of its peculiar, responsible, and 
concentrated leadership. 

The second distinguishing feature of American 
Methodism, the district superintendency, origi- 
nated quite accidentally — or, is it not better to 
say, Providentially? None of the American 
ministers had been ordained prior to the Christ- 
mas Conference of 1784. The people were clamor- 
ing for the sacraments which their pastors did 
not have the right to give. Twelve men were 
ordained to administer them throughout the 
church, and to facilitate their task the church was 
divided into twelve districts. The district superin- 
tendency grew out of this situation. 

The work of administration was becoming in- 
creasingly difficult. Bishop Asbury could no 
longer visit every church annually. He began to 
consult the "elders," who had traveled where he 
could not go. They had valuable information, 
though without authority, save in the matter of 

29 



THE ITINERANCY 

the sacraments, and the bishop naturally began 
to consult them when fixing the appointments. 

This is the simple story of the origin of the 
district superintendency. Again, it was neither 
forethought nor afterthought, but logical se- 
quence. 



30 



CHAPTER II 

THE ITINERANCY— WHAT IT IS AND 
WHAT IT DOES 

Before investigating the operation of the itin- 
erancy — how it is worked — it may be desirable to 
estimate its value in the light of history. 

No Longer on Trial 

First a necessity, next an experiment, it has 
become the chief bulwark of a world church. Long 
tested in the harsh school of experience, its effi- 
ciency has been proven on some of the fiercest 
moral battle fields the church has ever known. 

Apostolic in Nature 

The Divine Founder of Christianity was an 
itinerant preacher. He "went about doing good." 
Galilee, Samaria, and Judsea saw his face and 
heard his voice. He sent out his disciples two by 
two to prepare the way for his coming. Later, 
groups of disciples in varying numbers were com- 
missioned to proclaim the acceptable year of the 
Lord. Interrupted by the crucifixion, these itin- 

31 



THE ITINERANCY 

erant labors were soon resumed. Paul caught 
the same spirit. Restless as the ocean, Arabia, 
Damascus, Jerusalem, Antioch, Tarsus, Corinth, 
Athens, the islands of the sea, and even Rome — 
proud mistress of the world — heard this acute 
dialectician and burning witness for the risen 
Redeemer. 

Christianity won its earliest triumphs with 
itinerant preachers. Scattered by persecution, or 
impelled by a sense of divine urgency, the first 
teachers and preachers went everywhere. How- 
ever far harried believers were driven in their 
search for spiritual freedom, the story of the cross 
was told, and new communities of believers sprang 
up. The world empire of Christianity could have 
been built in no other way. 

Choice and necessity combined to make John 
Wesley an itinerant preacher and to use the 
itinerant method in building his societies. His 
scattered converts were too few and poor to sup- 
port settled pastors, even had such men been avail- 
able. But the itinerancy, in Wesley's hands, 
was at once reduced to a scientific basis. His 
"lay helpers" did not wander about, controlled 
by impulse or driven by necessity. Their activities 
were centrally directed. The reins were held in 
a steady hand. Watched by a vigilant eye, they 
were directed by superior judgment and resolute 
will. 

32 



THE ITINERANCY IN PRACTICE 

Fundamental Requirements in an Itinerancy 

A successful itinerancy demands three things : 

1. Centralized authority. There must be ulti- 
mate authority, all the better if it be centralized 
in a single individual. An itinerancy demands 
quick, accurate, and final decisions. Authority 
must be at the maximum and appeal at the mini- 
mum. This authority English Methodism had 
under Mr. Wesley, and the Methodist Episcopal 
Church under its bishops has always possessed it. 

2. Preachers must believe in the itinerancy, 
and submit themselves unhesitatingly to its au- 
thority. It is significant that the larger the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church becomes — the branch in 
which centralized authority has reached its high- 
est development — the less disposition is there to 
question its utility for churches or preachers. 
While the pioneer preachers were believers in the 
itinerancy, it was the subject of frequent and pro- 
longed discussion, and powerful attempts were 
made to introduce certain modifications. Such 
efforts have long since ceased, and it is question- 
able whether there exists a more loyal body of 
men than the thirty thousand ministers of Epis- 
copal Methodism, who annually submit the dear- 
est interests of life to the hazards incident to an 
itinerant ministry. 

3. There must be a loyal constituency. The 

33 



THE ITINERANCY 

church must have a clear understanding of the 
itinerancy, what it is and how it operates, and 
not only be willing to accept its many advan- 
tages, but also to endure its incidental disadvan- 
tages. Long and intimate acquaintance with the 
itinerancy satisfies the minister that the system 
is his friend, even when his wishes cannot be 
granted ; but the layman who may have given the 
system only cursory consideration, and who may 
judge it entirely from the local standpoint, easily 
grows impatient when his views are not instantly 
and fully heeded. 

What the Itinerancy Does 

Theories, however cautiously developed or co- 
gently phrased, are always uncertain. Until 
reduced to the test of actual experience, under 
varied conditions and for an adequate period, 
they are simply possibilities. Defensible in theory, 
they may prove impossible in practice. Prophe- 
cies concerning the itinerancy would now be 
strangely out of place — the world knows what it 
does. It began as a fact, was bitterly assailed by 
hostile theorizers, and has lived long enough to 
show that they were wrong. 

A System 

This cannot be overemphasized. The itinerancy 
34 



THE ITINERANCY IN PRACTICE 

is not a haphazard makeshift, doing its best under 
the circumstances, but a scientific system, basing 
its decisions upon accurate data, painstakingly 
acquired. It does not send men about whom it 
knows little into communities about which it 
knows less. Maladjustments are occasionally 
unavoidable because of the meager capacity or 
crass dispositions of certain preachers, or be- 
cause the authorities must deal with an intract- 
able local officiary. The defects of the itinerancy 
are few in number and of minor significance; its 
excellencies are manifest and manifold, giving 
the church one of the most daring and capable 
ministries ever known. 

Initiatory Power 

The itinerancy sends men instead of waiting 
for them to be called. Jesus "sent" his disciples. 
Before leaving the world he prepared for the 
future : "Go ye into all the world, and preach the 
gospel to every creature." His disciples were not 
to loiter about Jerusalem until "called." They 
were to "go," go at once, and go everywhere. 

The itinerancy never loses the strategic initia- 
tive. It is always on the offensive. It does not 
stay out of communities into which it is not in- 
vited, but goes wherever needed. Is there anything 
finer in Methodist annals than the story of its 
introduction into New England by the lone, un- 

35 



THE ITINERANCY 

heralded itinerant, Jesse Lee? The Spirit of God 
had been calling him for five years, and at length, 
in the face of a thoroughly established and hostile 
ecclesiasticism, the task was undertaken. But 
behind Jesse Lee stood the mobile, flexible, daunt- 
less itinerancy; sending its follow-up itinerants, 
encouraging the few believers, and fostering the 
feeble societies. Across the Alleghanies and the 
fertile plains of the Middle West, over the Rocky 
Mountains and the rolling prairies, westward to 
the Golden Gate the itinerancy has sent its heralds 
of truth. Scarcely a camp fire was lighted but 
that a Methodist itinerant, by its flickering rays, 
told again the story of the light of the world. 
While frontiersmen were "winning the West" 
from wild beasts and wilder men, humble itiner- 
ants were building a spiritual empire for Jesus 
Christ. 

In the older communities where the itinerancy 
established churches more than a century ago it 
still retains the initiative. Its constant, accurate 
knowledge of the field and exact information of 
the industry and capacity of its workers, its cau- 
tious survey of shifting populations, enables it to 
advance or retreat, defend or attack, as the situa- 
tion may warrant. 

Cultivates the Whole Field 

Every section of the vineyard must be culti- 
36 



THE ITINERANCY IN PRACTICE 

vated, every nook and corner gleaned. Other sys- 
tems provide easily for the choice sections, the 
itinerancy cultivates the whole. There are no 
forgotten fragments, overlooked leaks, or un- 
masoned breaches. The smallest church, the poor- 
est community has a vigilant representative in 
the Cabinet, pleading its cause, and insisting 
upon consideration. 

A nearby industrial community was filling up 
with country folk. The pastor of a local church 
with a nonitinerant polity was asked the ques- 
tion : "You are probably receiving many acces- 
sions by letter?" 

"No," he replied, "scarcely any at all." 

"Why, how can that be?" was the surprised 
answer. "Hundreds of people are annually mov- 
ing into your community from the surrounding 
territory." 

"Yes," was the reply, "but they are either Meth- 
odists or ," naming another denomination, 

"mainly the former." 

Was this coincidence or result? Undoubtedly 
the latter! The other denominations were once 
largely represented in this territory. Unlinked 
in an itinerancy, weakened by deaths, removals, 
and a waning population, they had ceased to 
exist. But Methodism still lived out over the 
hills, and when the inhabitants moved cityward 
they filled up the Methodist churches. 

37 



THE ITINEKANCY 

Perpetual Efficiency Demanded 

The "settled" pastor has a comfortable feeling 
of proprietorship. Only gross incompetency or 
grave errors in judgment or conduct will abbre- 
viate his stay. The itinerant preacher is without 
artificial protection. Efficiency is his only safe- 
guard. The district superintendent will come 
shortly to see how he is "getting on"; in a little 
while the fourth Quarterly Conference will ex- 
press its opinion, and the Cabinet will carefully 
review the year's work. 

The itinerancy applies common-sense standards 
of efficiency to the ministry. A man is not given 
a responsible position indefinitely, and left with- 
out direction or control. 

A learned and eloquent preacher was called to 
a church of another denomination. The popula- 
tion soon shifted, leaving his church, occupying 
an entire city block, far down town. The pastor 
could not adapt himself to the new conditions. 
He candidated, but in vain, and stayed on indefi- 
nitely. The few influential members who re- 
mained were his personal friends. When he died 
an endowment of forty thousand dollars had been 
exchanged for a mortgage of twenty thousand! 

The itinerancy knows nothing of "leisurely pas- 
torates," "pleasure-loving parsons," "hangers-on" 
in comfortable places, drones dozing in the sun- 

38 



THE ITINERANCY IN PRACTICE 

light, while the fair fields of Zion are weed-grown 
and cattle-tramped. The system proceeds upon 
the assumption that men are employed to do 
definite tasks, that these tasks will be seriously 
undertaken, and that every man will expect only 
such consideration as his work warrants. All 
men do their best under pressure. Indeed, neces- 
sity is the best faculty developer ever fabricated. 

Prevents Stagnation 

The bishop and his advisers, known as district 
superintendents, might well be called the "Con- 
ference Board of Strategy." They do not wait 
until the patient has deceased and hold an in- 
quest. However interesting and accurate, the 
verdict would be futile — the decedent can only be 
buried. The Cabinet detects the slightest rise in 
temperature, or notes the intermittent pulse. 
But the Cabinet is not merely an expert diagnos- 
tician. It possesses the sovereign remedy. 

Every appointment in Methodism terminates 
annually. Think of it, thirty thousand pastorates 
coming to an abrupt close every twelve months! 
When the church shall have fifty thousand pas- 
tors it will be the same. There are no loopholes, 
exceptions, nor special cases. Great pulpiteers, 
modest preachers, model pastors, gifted adminis- 
trators, the useful and the useless, the hard work- 
ers and the skillful shirkers, all are annually 

39 



THE ITINEKANCY 

loosened from their moorings and set adrift. 
Many of them may be tied up again at the old 
dock, but tied up again, not tied there still ! 

The power of accommodation is very great in 
a system where every pastorate ends yearly and 
yet may be resumed indefinitely. This presents 
the double possibility of going when necessary 
and of staying when needed. It is the limit of 
flexibility. 

Best for the Churches 

There must be quite one hundred thousand 
Methodist churches scattered throughout the 
world, all established by the itinerant system, and 
all built within the past one hundred and seventy- 
five years. It is not assumed that the itinerancy 
is entirely responsible for this great achievement. 
The Arminian interpretation of the Holy Scrip- 
tures has been a powerful aid, especially in the 
earlier days, but that the itinerancy has been the 
leading factor in this astonishing growth there 
can be no question. 

The settled pastorate has its undoubted ad- 
vantages, but they are few in number and of 
doubtful significance. An occasional church and 
a few pastors may have privileges under that 
system unknown in the itinerancy. 

Consider how well the itinerancy cares for the 
local church: 

40 



THE ITINERANCY IN PRACTICE 

1. Every church has a pastor. Even the little 
church, or the schoolhouse appointment attached 
to a large circuit, has consecutive religious serv- 
ices and an available preacher in emergencies. 
There is no distressing hiatus between pastorates. 
To the bishop and district superintendent is com- 
mitted this delicate and difficult adjustment. A 
modified freedom of choice has been assumed by 
certain churches, though reluctantly recognized, 
and it is always subjected to final revision by the 
presiding bishop. But this "modified choice" 
must be exercised quickly, and confined within 
certain recognized limits. If the church cannot 
decide, and practically at once, the bishop will 
do so. The system does not tolerate vacancies. 
The Conference does not close until every church 
has been supplied with a pastor, unless it should 
have the rare experience of not having enough 
men. Careless officials, hesitating churches, and 
objecting preachers reach the end of their tether. 
The bishop has the power to station every preacher 
and fill every pulpit, and he does it! Everybody 
may not be satisfied, but there are no unsightly 
gaps and weary waiting for the accidental dis- 
covery of the right man. The appointments are 
all made, always made, and the work goes on. 

2. The local church is never compelled to keep 
the wrong man indefinitely. 

They met down by the river bank one lovely 
41 



THE ITINERANCY 

evening in the month of August. One, a layman 
in a church with a nonitinerant polity, the other, 
a Methodist preacher. 

a O, yes," said the layman, "I have both heard 
of you and heard you." And he at once intro- 
duced a subject about which he had evidently 
been thinking. 

"I want to congratulate your church on its 
splendid polity," and there was considerable 
warmth in his tone. 

Knowing that his church had experienced diffi- 
culty in securing a pastor, the preacher replied : 
"Yes, it is a fine polity when the church is looking 
for a new preacher." 

"But I was not thinking of that," he replied 
with a smile, "but of the ease with which, in your 
church, a congregation can get rid of the wrong 
man." 

And then he told the pathetic story of how they 
had installed a ministerial misfit, and how there 
could be no hope of release for years to come. 

Three years have passed, with conditions slowly 
changing for the worse, and no hope of release 
for years to come! 

Some years since an excellent layman came into 
the Methodist Church from another denomina- 
tion. He was out of harmony with the old creed, 
and impatient with the chronic strife over the 
settlement and retention of pastors. He said : "I 

42 



THE ITINERANCY IN PRACTICE 

was no sooner in the Methodist Church than I 
found it in an uproar over the pastor. Some were 
for and others against him. Greatly distressed, I 
said to my wife, 'Well, I guess all churches in 
America are alike.'" (He was an Irishman.) 
"But I soon had a very happy surprise. In a few 
weeks the Annual Conference came, the preacher 
quietly moved away, and the very next Sunday 
his successor was in the pulpit. The threatened 
division was not only prevented, but every trace 
of it soon forgotten." 

3. No long and painful controversy over the 
retention of the pastor is possible. There are no 
congregational meetings with all their baneful 
possibilities, where the question is discussed and 
voted upon. Generally a quiet word to the dis- 
trict superintendent will settle the matter. He 
understands the situation, and has probably dis- 
cussed it with the pastor, or will now do so. 
Rasped feelings and bitter criminations will be 
unnecessary. Perhaps in a majority of cases this 
simple expedient answers every need. 

It must not be supposed that men are hastily 
moved or inadequately protected. Equal justice 
to church and pastor is the aim of the authorities. 
They are not the victims of idle gossip nor irre- 
sponsible rumor. They know whether the sug- 
gested removal is really desirable. It is their 
duty to see that justice is meted to the church and 

43 



THE ITINERANCY 

the preacher. The persistence of the itinerancy 
proves the practical accomplishment of this end. 
If the churches suffered, they would languish; if 
the preachers were not protected, desertions would 
be many and recruits few. 

4. There is no confused hearing of candidates 
nor appeals for a "hearing" by would-be candi- 
dates. 

A letter from a boyhood schoolmaster contained 
a pathetic sentence. He had entered the ministry 
in a denomination with a distinctively nonitiner- 
ant polity. He had a brilliant mind, and estimable 
qualities for the office to which he had been or- 
dained, but was peculiarly unfitted temperament- 
ally for candidating. He could neither be at his 
ease nor at his best under such circumstances. 
He said: "Eight years ago I gave myself, heart 

and mind, without reservation, to the 

Church. I was promised a pulpit in a little while. 
But this promise has never been kept." 

Waiting eight years for a call that never came ! 
The itinerancy could have turned those years to 
constant and profitable use. The system would 
have done for him what he could not do for him- 
self — the candidating. 

5. The bishop not only has the power of appoint- 
ment at the session of an Annual Conference, but 
the power of exchange or removal in the interim. 
In the event of the bishop's absence from the juris- 

44 



THE ITINERANCY IN PRACTICE 

diction of an Annual Conference, the district su- 
perintendent exercises the same power of exchange 
or removal. The church is given immediate and 
complete protection against ministerial recreancy. 
There is no painful waiting for action, no cum- 
bersome and inadequate machinery to set in mo- 
tion, no technical checks and foolish quibbles. A 
beginning is made at once, and the end comes 
quickly. Only those who have seen the celerity 
and accuracy with which the itinerancy moves in 
time of peril can appreciate this inestimable 
benefit. 

6. The itinerancy keeps its preachers at their 
maximum efficiency. The nonitinerant system is 
based upon the assumption that all ministers are 
capable of serving the same congregation indefi- 
nitely, and with undiminished efficiency — a mani- 
fest error. Real worth may not decline, but 
attractiveness wanes. Face, voice, and manner 
become familiar, and do not charm as of yore. 
Peculiarities are known, methods become thread- 
bare, the initial impulse has been lost. The 
preacher cannot change himself into another per- 
sonality. The itinerancy solves this problem in 
the most agreeable manner. 

The preacher is not like a skilled mechanic who 
does definite tasks over and over for a long series 
of years, and who, consequently, does them with 
ever-increasing ease to himself and satisfaction to 

45 



THE ITINERANCY 

others. The preacher is a dealer in mental initia- 
tives, spiritual impulses, and moral purposes. 
His task bristles with difficulties of the most seri- 
ous nature. He must be gracious in manner, of 
charming personality; fluent of speech; quick, 
eager, but of reliable mentality; chaste as a 
phrase maker; profound as a thinker, and accur- 
ate in his conclusions; harmonious in teaching, 
merciful in judgment, and patient under criti- 
cism. Every man must be a gentleman part of 
the time, but the minister must be a Christian 
gentleman all of the time! Is it a wonder that 
comparatively few men in any generation achieve 
conspicuous success in such a profession? 

The itinerancy gives intelligent recognition to 
this serious truth. It does not condemn men in- 
capable of prolonged or indefinite service in a 
single community. By systematic rotation it 
utilizes such ability as its preachers may possess. 
Sterility in the pastorate and exasperation in the 
pew are reduced to the minimum. 

7. The itinerancy distributes the various talents 
of the ministry. "Variety is the spice of life," 
true everywhere, the ministry included. Variety 
awakens interest, prevents dull uniformity, and 
taps unexpected sources of power. Hortatory 
gifts predominate in one preacher. He can rouse 
the careless, and awaken those "dead in trespasses 
and sins." Another is a builder in the finer graces 

46 



THE ITINERANCY IN PRACTICE 

of the Christian life. He opens new vistas of 
truth to eager souls. Still another has special 
adaptability for work among children and young 
people. His church will echo with the happy 
voices of children. And yet another is a master 
in physical betterments. New churches and par- 
sonages, or the radical renovation of existing 
plants are the common achievements of his minis- 
try. The itinerancy makes an annual distribution 
of these talents. The builder will not stay where 
his special talent will be unneeded for a genera- 
tion. Nor will a revivalist go where a great build- 
ing project is imminent. 

It is inevitable that the frequent distribution 
of these gifts, according to local necessities, will 
give the work of an entire denomination a com- 
pleteness, a perfection of achievement, impossible 
in any other system. 

8. The itinerancy makes an indefinite pastorate 
possible whenever desirable or necessary. The 
system gradually outgrew the time limit necessary 
in the beginning, when mobility was absolutely 
demanded and hard to achieve in a new country, 
with long distances, bad roads, and hard condi- 
tions. Its utility becoming less apparent with the 
lapse of time, it was finally adjudged a burden 
and abolished. Efficiency is the only limit. Great 
social, evangelistic, or constructive enterprises are 
not embarrassed by having their originators torn 

47 



THE ITINEKANCY 

away. A great man has time to build up a great 
church, and can, if he wishes, devote his entire 
ministry to one or two pastorates. 

The itinerancy does not compel long pastorates. 
When itinerants stay indefinitely it is because 
they are annually invited to return. Long pas- 
torates are not based upon an invitation given five, 
ten, or fifteen years before. Yesterday the ques- 
tion was discussed in the Quarterly Conference, 
and a new invitation, minted by the present wishes 
of the congregation and based upon existing pros- 
perity, was handed to the preacher. He does not 
go back because the fathers made a mistake years 
ago, and the children are doing their best to stand 
by it! 

The Itinerancy is the Best System for 
Preachers 

1. It gives every man employment. A preacher 
who did not think his talents appreciated changed 
to a church with a nonitinerant polity. Having 
well rooted ideas as to salary and location, he 
launched out upon the untried sea of candidature. 
He sailed far and wide, but never made port. In 
despair, he put back into the familiar harbor and 
tied up at the old dock. The itinerancy put him 
to work at once! No idle Methodist preachers 
stand in the market place waiting to be hired. 
No "want" advertisement need be slipped into a 

48 



THE ITINERANCY IN PRACTICE 

religious journal under a pseudonym. All his 
strength can be given to his task. Others are paid 
to worry about his future. 

2. The itinerancy affords every preacher con- 
tinuous employment. The fear of unemployment 
stalks like a menacing ghost behind every preacher 
dependent upon a nonitinerant system. Occasion- 
ally it catches up and impudently linking arms, 
laughs at its shrinking victim as he marches down 
the public highway of life. 

He was an educated Christian gentleman, in the 
very prime of life. 

It was a wet, chilly morning in early winter. 
He had a discouraged, bedraggled look. 

"You know," he said, as his eyes sought the 
floor, and a faint flush suffused his cheeks, while 
his trembling lips had to be moistened before he 
could begin again, "you know, after a trying pas- 
torate of four years, and the failure of earnest 
plans to lift my church to a higher spiritual plane, 
I resigned." 

Yes, his hearer had learned that much from the 
public press, but presumed the resignation had not 
been tendered until there was a fair prospect for 
work elsewhere. 

"No, I had nothing in prospect, and have less 
now. My wife is sick, we have an invalid daugh- 
ter, and have saved nothing, and my denomination 
can give no assistance in this emergency." 

49 



THE ITINERANCY 

He then proffered a request which need not be 
repeated. He has since abandoned a profession 
for which he seemed to have much adaptability. 

The itinerant preacher, as long as he retains a 
fair measure of efficiency, is certain of employ- 
ment. He may be concerned as to tohere he will be 
employed, but as to the fact there can be no doubt. 

3. The itinerancy keeps preachers at their best 
mentally and physically. Occasional change 
quickens interest, affords relief for frayed nerves, 
adds zest to the day's tasks, interrupts routine, 
and lifts one out of the ruts. 

Twenty-five years had passed since the class had 
graduated. Eighteen of the thirty-nine graduates 
had come back to renew the fellowship of former 
years. One, tall, straight as an arrow, keen of 
mind and eloquent of tongue, had long since 
"strayed" into the settled pastorate. 

"By the way, X , where are you living now ?" 

"O, at the same old place," with deprecatory 
tone and relaxed expression. 

"Is it not true that you have been there a long 
time?" 

<f Yes, seventeen years. More than long enough." 

"Why don't you move? You are still a young 
man. Your denomination has many churches in 
this section. Openings must be occurring con- 
stantly. Have you never candidated?" 

"Yes, but I am over fifty years of age, and that 
50 



THE ITINERANCY IN PRACTICE 

is a handicap I cannot overcome. Strong churches 
want young men who are coming up, not aging 
men who are going down, and who, if called, may 
be on their hands in a few years/' 

The questioner then felt free to tell his friend 
how he had recommended him to the chairman of 
a pulpit committee just the year previously, and 
was met with the immediate question, ''How old 
is he ?" The reluctant confession that he must be 
in the neighborhood of fifty years of age caused 
an immediate slackening of interest. 

"I guess I will have to stay where I am until 
the end of the chapter," said the "settled" pastor 
with a gentle sigh of resignation. 

But he ought not. For the work's sake, and his 
own sake, he ought not ! 

The preacher needs the incentive of a new situ- 
ation; the intellectual freedom of a new begin- 
ning; the inspiration of new faces; relief from 
embarrassing circumstances accumulated during 
the years ; the opportunity to do some things dif- 
ferently; and the chance to avoid administrative 
blunders into which all fall. 

If our friend were in the itinerancy, a sugges- 
tion to the authorities would have opened the way 
for his removal long since. And would not his 
ministry, under the happier circumstances of the 
itinerancy, take on a militancy, his preaching 
fresh mental elasticity, his administration new 

51 



THE ITINEKANCY 

vigor, and his retirement from the pulpit be post- 
poned for a decade? 

The Itinerancy a "School of the Prophets" 

Early American Methodism produced many 
giants — clear thinkers, profound theologians, 
great administrators, keen debaters, finished pul- 
pit orators; while backwoods preachers with 
amazing descriptive and hortatory gifts seemed 
to come like magic from the earth, the woods, the 
sky. What produced them? The itinerancy. Who 
taught them? The itinerancy. Who made them 
"masters of assemblies"? The itinerancy. The 
itinerancy kept them reading, thinking, preaching, 
traveling, and that atmosphere of perpetual alert- 
ness was conducive to mental growth. They de- 
voured the literature of the church. They were 
encouraged and corrected by the presiding elders, 
thrilled emotionally and quickened spiritually by 
the great camp meetings; while the debates, 
addresses, love feasts, sermons, and fellowship of 
the Annual Conference, where they came in con- 
tact with the leading minds of the church, com- 
pleted the cycle of influences that transformed so 
many of them from ordinary into extraordinary 
men. 

The itinerancy has never lost its power to de- 
velop men. If the young man who puts himself 
into the hands of the itinerancy has a measure of 

52 



THE ITINEKANCY IN PRACTICE 

natural adaptability, and will give himself unre- 
sistingly to this wonderful system, breathing its 
atmosphere, learning its language, catching its 
spirit, cultivating its ideals, opening his soul to 
the sweep of its moods and tenses, he will grow 
to a larger manhood and do a greater work usually 
than would be possible in any other system. 

The Itinerancy Gives Every Man His Chance 

An itinerant wrote a letter in which occurred 
these peculiar sentences: "I am stuck way back 
here with no opportunity of ever being seen or 
heard. Since you are to change this spring, I 
would like very much to have you either recom- 
mend me to your pulpit committee, or give me an 
opportunity to preach in your church." 

Many years have passed, and he is still "stuck." 
He was right as to the fact, mistaken as to the 
cause, and in error as to the remedy. 

It is strange how quickly the world will find out 
the man who can do something. He can neither 
hide nor be hidden! If a preacher, he need not 
ask his brethren to lift the lid from his candle. 
If incompetent, the world will learn the truth 
much sooner than he had hoped. Nor need such 
a preacher seek favor upon credentials filched of 
facts — the world will know they do not tell the 
truth. 

The itinerancy affords peculiar opportunities 
53 



THE ITINERANCY 

for discovery and recognition. An unfortunate 
environment is often responsible for failure. The 
young man is quickly rescued and the entire Con- 
ference searched for a suitable church. He is not 
compelled to remain in an uncongenial atmosphere 
until failure becomes pronounced or he is driven 
in despair from the ministry. 

It would be easy to find men in the ministry 
who deem themselves cruelly undervalued by both 
churches and authorities. But those who must 
listen to their voluble complaints know better. 
These men have all had a second or third oppor- 
tunity, until it has been reluctantly recognized 
that they were incapable of larger service. 

Overindulgence with incompetency is one of the 
serious faults of the itinerancy. Officials are some- 
times unwarrantably lenient or unduly optimistic. 
Often the preacher's interpretation of his failure, 
even if successive, is accepted, while every effort 
is made, by kindly counsel and study of his charac- 
teristics, to make the proper adjustment. It must 
not be forgotten that the itinerancy is operated 
by itinerants, and that no class of men understand 
each other better, have a keener appreciation of 
mutual difficulties, or could be more insistent that 
justice should be measured to all. 

The Itinerancy Protects Mature Men 
Superficial observers have sometimes con- 
54 



THE ITINERANCY IN PEACTICE 

clemned the itinerancy on the score of injustice 
to aging men. A septuagenarian may occasion- 
ally be found in the active service of a nonitine- 
rant church, but the many men consigned to per- 
manent retirement in middle life must not be for- 
gotten. Every Annual Conference has a large 
proportion of mature men, who are annually ap- 
pointed with satisfaction to the church and them- 
selves. 

Kecall the plight of the man who could not 
expect a "call," since he had, in an incautious 
moment, crossed the dreaded half-century mark! 
His name is legion. Unless satisfactorily located 
prior to that period, the future is forbidding in- 
deed. Dislocation after forty-five or fifty years 
of age generally means permanent retirement, or 
such service as he does not care to undertake. 
Examine the minutes of an Annual Conference. 
See how evenly the appointments of men run from 
forty-five to sixty-five years of age. There will be 
exceptions, but always capable of explanation. 
Every man is not only continuously employed but 
usually it is at a stable salary. 

Makes an Independent Ministry 

A shackled pulpit is a national menace. If any 
man is free, it should be the prophet of God. The 
itinerancy was born in a militant atmosphere, it 
rears fighters and expects its ministers to be in 

55 



THE ITINEKANCY 

bondage only to the truth. The Methodist Church 
is the mother of moral radicalism in modern life. 

Promotes Denominational Unity 

The constant exchange of pastors in an Annual 
Conference and, indeed, throughout the entire con- 
nection, enhances its solidarity. It cannot easily 
divide into sections, gradually differing in spirit, 
doctrines, and methods. Methodism is the same 
everywhere, the itinerancy reducing regional pe- 
culiarities to the minimum. 

Methodism is one body, not a church composed 
of separate congregations. Necessity compels 
local organization, but each unit is linked to the 
living whole. The need of one is the concern of 
all. Is there anything Methodistic in which all 
Methodists are not interested? And the fellow- 
ship of Methodist preachers, is it not without 
parallel? The cordial greeting and freedom of 
approach, the exchange of friendly inquiries and 
innocent badinage, is it not delightful? The uni- 
form tendency to help one another in difficult un- 
dertakings, such as church-building, debt-paying, 
and evangelistic services — have you noticed its 
equal elsewhere? 

Makes the Circuit System Possible 

The early itinerants were known as "circuit 
riders." Each preacher supplied a "circuit" of 

56 



THE ITINEKANCY IN PEACTICE 

preaching places; "stations" were the exception, 
circuits the rule. The rapid growth of the church 
has reversed this condition. The indebtedness of 
the denomination, and, indeed, of the nation, to 
a system that made circuits possible, is incalcu- 
lable. For a century and a half, through her cir- 
cuit system, Methodism has been the frontier 
church of the nation. 

While the frontier is passing, rural America 
remains, and its problems are the despair of many 
denominations. It is becoming almost impossible 
for a nonitinerant system to live in the open coun- 
try. The itinerancy does not permit rural churches 
to die, even when they want to ! 

The young pastor and his wife had gotten dis- 
couraged, and were homesick for the mother coun- 
try. But they sorely needed the forty dollars in 
arrears on salary for passage money. The dis- 
trict superintendent made a long journey to in- 
vestigate the situation. 

"We told the former superintendent," said a 
determined-faced matron, "that we could no longer 
support a pastor, and did not want one." 

"Did you make that fact very plain to him?" 
was mildly asked. 

"Yes, and he would not listen to us. We now 
tell you the same thing, and if you send a man 
here next year, you will have to support him your- 
self." 

57 



THE ITINERANCY 

Six years have passed and they have had a pas- 
tor ever since. That little church was the center 
of a church with four appointments. It would 
have meant a quadruple death. Only the itine- 
rancy could solve such a problem. 

But How Does the Itinerancy Work? 

Knowing what it does is not the whole story. 
How is it worked ? Where does its motive power 
reside? How was this power developed? And 
how is it controlled ? 

That is an iuteresting and inspiring story. The 
system cannot work itself. There must be concen- 
trated and intelligent power somewhere. It takes 
a mighty arm to turn the wheel which annually 
distributes thirty thousand Methodist Episcopal 
preachers throughout the world ; likewise, clarity 
of vision to put the vast majority in localities 
where they are desired, and where conditions are 
suited to their various talents. Let us investi- 
gate the modus operandi. 



58 



CHAPTER III 
THE EPISCOPACY 

Its Origin 

The last days of Wesley were burdened 
with the solution of two very grave problems — 
the future government of the Methodist societies 
in England and America. He had long meditated 
the question of a successor for the English so- 
cieties, and had importuned his friend, the saintly 
Fletcher, to accept the post. But as time passed, 
Wesley recognized that British Methodism would 
never suffer any man to take his place, how- 
ever holy in life or gifted in administration. The 
solution found for American Methodism was not 
applicable to England. In this new nation, where 
new things were common, his real convictions 
were given expression. 

The episcopacy, or general superintendency, as 
it was originally called, came from the hands 
of Wesley. The English plan was the best for 
England, under the circumstances, while the 
American plan was the best possible under any 
circumstances, and was the expression of the ma- 
ture judgment of Wesley. None knew better 

69 



THE ITINERANCY 

the administrative difficulties of an itinerancy, 
and the necessity for centralized authority. He 
could make the system work; whether another, 
with less power, could do so, remained to be seen. 
Francis Asbury, long in charge of the American 
work under authority from Wesley, refused 
the appointment of general superintendent, or 
bishop, unless it should be ratified by the Ameri- 
can preachers. This was an astute decision, 
prompted by Asbury's unwillingness to leave 
the position, to which he felt called, in constant 
jeopardy, subject to the arbitrary will of one man 
on the other side of the Atlantic; and one who 
knew little of American conditions, and who, on 
several occasions, had been critical of the adminis- 
tration of his young superintendent. Election by 
the preachers would preclude the possibility of 
dismissal by Wesley. There may have been 
an even stronger reason for his determination to 
submit his appointment to the American preach- 
ers. He knew the temper of the young republic, 
and that, while respect for Wesley's judgment 
and affection for his person and character were 
very great, his tendency to impose his individual 
will upon the societies had long been resented. 
Indeed, it had been asked by what authority 
Asbury had exercised his rigorous rule. The 
reply that he had been appointed by Wesley was 
beginning to mean less and less. A further ap- 

60 



THE EPISCOPACY 

pointment by Wesley, and to a higher position, 
might lead to serious consequences. 

The Christmas Conference, held in the city of 
Baltimore, Maryland, in the year 1784, not only 
gave American Methodism its apostolic bishop, 
Francis Asbury, but it gave organic form to the 
scattered societies, henceforth to be known as the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. 

Foundation of the Itinerancy 

One of the greatest, if not the greatest > achieve- 
ment of the Christmas Conference was the per- 
petuation of the power of appointment in the 
hands of the general superintendents, or bishops, 
of the church. To have relegated this supreme 
function to a committee or Cabinet, or to have 
made it subject to discussion and revision by the 
Conference, would have been an irreparable 
blunder. 

The Same To-Day 

Many attempts have been made to modify this 
supreme function of the episcopacy, but without 
avail. After nearly a century and a half it re- 
mains the same — a tribute to the fathers' wisdom, 
and to the good judgment of the uniformly capable 
men who have held this high office. 

Time Has Brought Other Changes 

Elected for life, and originally permitted to 
61 



THE ITINERANCY 

exercise the functions of office as long as they 
deemed themselves mentally and physically quali- 
fied, the General Conference finally assumed the 
right to retire bishops it considered incapacitated 
for further service, either by advancing age or 
infelicities of administration. A legal retiring 
age now exists, but the right of retirement at any 
age and for any cause is still exercised. As the 
number of bishops increased it became necessary 
to designate official residences, and this has finally 
developed into the residential area system. But 
through all the changes of the years the power of 
appointment has not been taken from the bishops 
nor modified in the least particular. The bishop 
is amenable to the General Conference for each 
appointment, but his right of decision is unchal- 
lenged. 

An Important Modification 

The General Conference of 1916, in defining the 
duties of a bishop in the matter of fixing the ap- 
pointments, to the sentence: "He shall appoint 
preachers to pastoral charges annually," added 
this significant clause: "after consultation with 
the superintendents of the districts in which such 
charges are located." 

While this is a change of far-reaching impor- 
tance, it does not touch the ultimate authority of 
the bishop. The bishop must consult the interested 

62 



THE EPISCOPACY 

superintendent concerning any and every ap- 
pointment, but he may follow his own judgment 
subsequent thereto. 

The so-called Cabinet, composed of the presiding 
bishop and the superintendents of the various 
districts of an Annual Conference, has never been 
given legal recognition. The new regulation does 
not legalize the Cabinet, but prevents the bishop 
from making ad interim appointments, especially 
transferring men from Conference to Conference, 
without first consulting the local district superin- 
tendents. The power of transfer has not been 
abridged, but it cannot be exercised until those 
next in authority have been consulted. 

In effect, this legislation gives legal recognition 
to the Cabinet. While the final decision rests with 
the bishop, he is compelled to consult the men inti- 
mately acquainted with every local situation. 
While this has been the almost unbroken custom 
of bishops since the creation of the presiding elder- 
ship, it is now necessitated by the law of the 
church. 

Compelling all to do what most did of their own 
accord should be a hardship to none, and prove a 
blessing to the church. Fixing the appointments 
is the most delicate and difficult task in all Meth- 
odism. This is the one place where haste, ill tem- 
per, partisan administration, or important de- 
cisions based upon inaccurate data, would tell 

63 



THE ITINERANCY 

quickly and fatally against the system. A law 
which compels the bishop to consult the best- 
informed men in every Annual Conference, but 
which does not tie his hands, is capable of far- 
reaching good. 

Doubt was expressed as to the constitutionality 
of this law at the time of its enactment. But it 
does not limit a bishop's freedom of decision; it 
simply designates official consultants who have 
influence hut no power. If an appointment, prior 
to its consummation, dare not be submitted to the 
judgment of the district superintendents, it is 
very clear that it should not be made. 

Decisions op the Cabinet Should Not be 
by Ballot 

It has been seriously proposed to give the dis- 
trict superintendents the right of franchise in the 
Cabinet, subjecting all of its decisions to the rule 
of the majority. Such a change would be fraught 
with great danger: 

1. It would destroy the episcopacy. The bishop 
would have one vote in a Cabinet of from three 
to twelve members. He would be its ornamental 
and expensive, but wholly useless, secretary. Hav- 
ing robbed him of ecclesiastical, it might be well 
to give him police powers, so that he could at 
least keep the peace between warring factions ! 

2. The itinerancy would lose a disinterested 

64 



THE EPISCOPACY 

referee. Of all members in the Cabinet it is least 
conceivable that the bishop should be liable to 
bias. He has neither friends to reward nor enemies 
to punish. His eye is not upon the approaching 
election — the Annual Conference has nought to 
give or withhold. He can derive no personal 
benefit, it matters not how the appointments are 
made. And he can easily prevent the slightest 
manifestation of unfairness, injustice, or arbitrari- 
ness. 

3. The Cabinet would be controlled by a few 
adroit minds. Its decisions would be determined 
by an irresponsible and uncontrollable "collusive 
mind." The Cabinet would be the registrar of 
decisions made elsewhere. It is now an open 
forum where proposed appointments are fully dis- 
cussed, and where each superintendent must ex- 
plain and defend every projected appointment. 
The "collusive mind" could make its proposition, 
apply the parliamentary cloture, register its vote, 
and the decision would be both final and legal, 
however subversive of justice. 

4. Preachers would make appointments by 
pledging the superintendents. Upon the basis of 
one promise, perhaps given reluctantly, other 
superintendents could be coerced. Basing expec- 
tations upon inconclusive promises would lead the 
disappointed to bitter crimination. How the 
Cabinet voted upon a given case would soon be 

65 



THE ITINERANCY 

bruited about. Freedom of action by the superin- 
tendents would be seriously abridged. 

5. No superintendent could have a constructive 
policy. His best men could be voted away from 
him, and the poorest men in the Conference voted 
upon him. Under such a system district bound- 
aries would practically disappear, the individual 
responsibility of superintendents would be les- 
sened, and the esprit de corps of a district reduced 
to nil. Inefficiency in the superintendency could 
not be located, for the incompetent could say, "I 
was outvoted in the Cabinet." 

Independence of the Appointing Power 

The state carefully protects the independence 
of the judiciary. The term is measured by the 
importance of the position. Comparatively brief 
for the minor judges, it lengthens significantly 
for the higher officials, while justices of the Su- 
preme Court of the United States are appointed 
for life. Their support is adequate and their pre- 
rogatives are jealously guarded. They are re- 
leased, so far as it is possible, from obligation to 
extraneous influences. The issues submitted must 
be decided without personal bias, partisan preju- 
dice, personal reciprocal effect, or corporate influ- 
ences. 

An itinerancy can attain its best results only 
when the supreme power is lodged in a free will. 

66 



THE EPISCOPACY 

It has been proposed to elect the bishops for a 
term of years, the briefer the better. Some good 
things can be said in favor of this proposition. 
It would make the bishops studious, cautious, 
approachable, and industrious. It would keep 
the episcopacy up to date, constantly weeding out 
incompetents, fossils, and accidents. But let us 
see: 

1. The present law possesses the chief advan- 
tages of a quadrennial elective system, with none 
of its serious defects : 

(1) A bishop may retire of his own volition 
when he reaches the age of seventy years by simply 
notifying the Board of Bishops in writing. 

(2) A bishop is released by law from the duties 
of his office "at the close of the General Confer- 
ence nearest his seventy-third birthday." 

(3) "A general superintendent at any age and 
for any reason deemed sufficient by the General 
Conference, may be released by that body from 
the obligation to travel through the connection at 
large, and from residential supervision." 

What more could be desired? A bishop may 
retire at a certain age ; he must retire at a definite 
age ; or he may be retired "at any age and for any 
reason deemed sufficient by the General Confer- 
ence." These provisions make it impossible for 
the church ever to be dominated by senile incompe- 
tency. 

67 



THE ITINERANCY 

The church deals generously with its bishops 
in activity and retirement. They are given every 
necessary convenience for the prosecution of their 
work. But much is demanded. The General Con- 
ference exercises great caution in checking up the 
administration of each bishop. Charges of in- 
competence or arbitrariness are carefully investi- 
gated. It is recognized that the bishop wields 
great power, is intrusted with vast responsibili- 
ties; that the weal of the church, the happiness 
and usefulness of the ministry, is placed in his 
hands on the day of his election. But if after 
being elevated to the episcopacy it is found that 
he is deficient in temperament, lacking in tact, 
weak in construction and conciliation, it is prob- 
able that he will be relieved of his responsibilities 
by the next General Conference. 

2. While mistakes are always possible, whether 
the office be elective or appointive, and whether 
the term be short, long, or for life, yet the possi- 
bility of serious error in the system as constituted 
is reduced to the minimum. Not only is this 
demonstrated by the fact that no serious blunders 
have been made in the long period of nearly a 
century and a half, but it has also been proven by 
the impossibility of electing any man to the office 
until he has reached mature age, and has an 
established character and demonstrated fitness 
acquired in subordinate positions; the church is 

68 



THE EPISCOPACY 

so large, a candidate for the episcopacy must be 
so generally and favorably known, his vouchers 
must be so numerous, influential, and insistent, 
his whole career must respond so satisfactorily to 
critical investigation, that the possibility of seri- 
ous error is a remote contingency. 

3. The term-system would put the independence 
of the episcopacy in jeopardy. Every bishop would 
trim his sails to make port four years hence. He 
would have a personal interest in the election of 
delegates to the General Conference, and he would 
be tempted to promote or keep men in responsible 
positions in order to secure their election. He 
would never be a bishop, but always a candidate 
for the episcopacy! And of all reprehensible 
characters — a perpetual candidate. What could 
be done with those who failed of reelection? 
Would they be retired bishops or returned preach- 
ers? Every demotion would create a radiating 
center of discontent. 

4. The strain of electing bishops is severe 
enough upon the patience and good nature of a 
General Conference, but the burden of reelection 
would prove intolerable. Kumors, both specious 
and false, would be circulated against incumbents 
to help aspirants. Every idiosyncrasy of habit 
and peculiarity of mind would be unduly magni- 
fied. The General Conference could never deter- 
mine the number of new bishops to be elected until 

69 



THE ITINEKANCY 

it knew how many had failed of reelection. The 
election and the reelection would have to occur at 
different periods during the same Conference. 
The reelections would have to come early, and 
then time allowed for investigation and decision 
concerning the number of new bishops needed, so 
that the subject would be kept before the Confer- 
ence throughout its entire length. The friends 
of influential candidates could easily form com- 
binations to defeat the less prominent or least 
popular bishops. Indeed, there could not fail to 
be a pronounced tendency to reelect the smallest 
possible number in order to promote the election 
of new men. 

5. The church would be in perpetual agitation 
concerning the reelections. The qualifications of 
bishops for reelection would be a legitimate sub- 
ject for discussion. They would be subjected to 
attack in the public press. Anonymous pam- 
phleteers would doubtless assail the judgment, and 
even the character, of men who would be in a poor 
position to defend themselves. Constant agita- 
tion, perpetual turmoil, would displace the har- 
mony which quickly follows the temporary flurry 
incidental to the present system. 

6. Such a system would increase the elections 
in every General Conference to a deplorable ex- 
tent. Twenty-five bishops up for reelection, and 
from five to ten new bishops to be elected ! It is 

70 



THE EPISCOPACY 

unthinkable. It would drive any General Confer- 
ence to distraction. 

There has been a pronounced tendency on the 
part of the General Conference to reduce the num- 
ber of elective officers. Elections seriously inter- 
fere with the orderly procession of business. 
Delegates are thinking of offices and officers, when 
they should be concerned with the weightier mat- 
ters of legislation. There is now a regrettable 
tendency to consider the elections the main func- 
tion of the Conference. Agitation for adjourn- 
ment begins as soon as the last office has been 
filled. Delegates grow impatient with discussions 
and beg for early adjournment. 

7. The church could never justify such an epis- 
copacy. It would demean the office and belittle 
the officer. Pastors are permitted to remain in- 
definitely ; superintendents of districts are granted 
a term of six years, but it would be saying that 
in all this great connection there could not be 
found three dozen men sufficiently stable in mind 
and character to be intrusted with the high duties 
of the episcopacy for a longer period than four 
consecutive years! And that in the face of a 
history which clearly demonstrates the contrary. 

Evolution in Administration 

The General Conference, like every other fea- 
ture of Methodism, was a logical development. 

71 



THE ITINERANCY 

The Christmas Conference of 1784 did not provide 
for a successor. One step at a time was taken. 
All power — legislative, administrative, and judi- 
cial — remained with the single Annual Con- 
ference. The far-scattered circuits made three 
Annual Conferences necessary in the year 1785. 
Even the great emergency of the previous year had 
only brought about seventy-five per cent of the 
preachers to the Christmas Conference. Travel 
was slow and difficult, and the precarious condi- 
tion of the work would not permit the preachers 
to be away from one to two months each year. 
Administrative efficiency demanded the division 
of the work into separate Annual Conferences, 
though it greatly embarrassed the legislative func- 
tions of the church. 

It was immediately discovered that the Annual 
Conferences lacked legislative powers. The Christ- 
mas Conference had done little more than begin 
the work of organization. New legislation became 
necessary, and this was made possible only by the 
concurrent action of the three Annual Confer- 
ences, meeting at different times and places, and 
with no opportunity for consultation. Friction 
and disagreement were the inevitable result. Leg- 
islation desired by one Conference was modified 
or refused by the others. Insubordination and 
threats of secession became common. Bishop 
Asbury proposed the "Council," to be composed 

72 



THE EPISCOPACY 

of the bishops and presiding elders, to whom 
should be committed all questions demanding con- 
current action; and it was attempted, but the 
opposition evoked led to its speedy abandonment. 

At this critical juncture Dr. Coke fortunately 
arrived from Europe. He suggested calling a Gen- 
eral Conference of all the preachers in the year 
1792, to consider the whole situation, and devise 
means for strengthening the church. The sugges- 
tion was accepted, and the Conference called. 

The impending crisis brought preachers from 
the pioneer wilderness of the West, the shores of 
New England, and the mountains of the South. 
Much important legislation was enacted, but most 
important of all, the Conference adjourned to 
meet four years later. By this simple means the 
General Conference was created. The General 
Conference, speaking for the entire church, natu- 
rally absorbed the legislative functions of the 
denomination, while the Annual Conferences were 
confined to administrative problems. 

But the constant expansion of the church 
created a new difficulty. Since all the preachers 
were members of the General Conference, the adja- 
cent territory enjoyed an ever-increasing advan- 
tage. This became noticeable in the Conference 
of 1800. The Western and far Southern men 
could not leave their work from four to five 
months to attend the General Conference. Power 

73 



THE ITINERANCY 

was held in the centrally located Conferences of 
the East and near South. Dissatisfaction became 
acute, and threats of secession were openly made. 

When the General Conference of 1808 convened 
it was discovered that two Conferences out of 
seven had sent a majority of the delegates. It 
at once became apparent that a remedy must be 
found. Attempts at solution were futile, the dom- 
inant Conferences refusing to resign their power. 
In despair the Western delegates prepared to re- 
turn home. This action, capable of but one inter- 
pretation, opened the eyes of the majority to the 
gravity of the situation, and they acceded to the 
demand for a delegated General Conference. It 
was a momentous decision, and meant that power 
had passed from the entire body of the preachers 
to a select number. 

Since all members of Annual Conferences could 
never again have membership in future General 
Conferences, and since all legislative functions 
were placed in the hands of a minority of the 
preachers who might be delegates, the question at 
once arose as to whether a delegated General Con- 
ference should have a free hand in legislation, or 
whether certain constitutional restrictions should 
be imposed. After much debate the six "Restric- 
tive Rules" were adopted. The third rule care- 
fully protected the episcopacy : "The General Con- 
ference shall not change nor alter any part or rule 

74 



THE EPISCOPACY 

of our government so as to do away episcopacy, 
nor destroy the plan of our itinerant general su- 
perintendency." 

This action clearly indicates the estimate placed 
upon "our itinerant general superintendency." 
Its existence was not to be hazarded in the chance 
discussions of a future General Conference, in 
which all the preachers were not to have the right 
of membership. 

During the first forty years of the church's life 
the bishops were itinerant evangelists. The few 
Annual Conferences demanded only a fraction of 
their time. Their strength was given to pioneer 
preaching, the formation of new circuits, and such 
simple administrative duties as the scattered 
work demanded. 

The church slowly and cautiously increased the 
number of bishops. The ministry and member- 
ship had grown out of all proportion to the Board 
of Bishops. The evangelistic function of the 
episcopacy was necessarily abandoned. A small 
number of bishops, of mature years, and in- 
creasingly burdened with administrative duties, 
could not devote their time to evangelism. Nor 
was the need so great. The number of preachers 
had largely increased, and their qualifications 
improved. 

The organization of the church grew more com- 
plex, and the bishops were increasingly with- 

75 



THE ITINERANCY 

drawn from personal contact with churches and 
preachers. They were called to lead missionary 
and educational enterprises, dedicate churches, 
administer trust funds, furnish leadership for the 
moral issues agitating society, and give additional 
time to the ad interim administration in the An- 
nual Conferences. 

The church, always jealous for the old paths, 
gradually realized that the new situation had to 
be met with new methods. Heretofore the bishops 
had chosen their own residences, but as the num- 
ber multiplied there was an unfortunate tendency 
to congestion in certain centers, and the General 
Conference of 1872 designated the cities in which 
the bishops were to reside. 

Twelve years later the tendency toward residen- 
tial episcopacy became marked and irresistible. 
The policy of electing missionary bishops for defi- 
nite portions of the world-field was adopted. In 
1900 the General Conference emphasized its ap- 
pointive power and instructed the bishops to main- 
tain actual residences in the places designated. 
The same Conference placed Bishop Vincent in 
charge of the European work for four years, and 
assigned Bishop Moore for a like period to East- 
ern Asia. 

The implication of this legislation was plain. 
It meant two things: the subordination of the 
bishops to the will of the General Conference and 

76 



THE EPISCOPACY 

the increasing need of the church for scientific 
supervision. These demands could not be met by 
a roving episcopacy, with few definite responsi- 
bilities, and little accurate information in emer- 
gencies. It was apparent that the bishops, if left 
to themselves, could never settle the problems of 
residence and consecutive administration. It be- 
came necessary to do for the bishops what they 
could not do with themselves. It was logical and 
legal that the electing body should be the directing 
force. 

This legislation, stretching over a period of 
twenty-eight years, also indicated steady approach 
to the residential episcopacy. Every change faced 
that way, and the goal was finally reached in the 
General Conference of 1912. Quoting from the 
Discipline of that year : 

"In the interval of the Annual Conference ses- 
sions each resident bishop shall be held responsible 
for the administration of the temporal and spirit- 
ual interests of the church within those Confer- 
ences adjacent to his residence. Thirty days after 
the adjournment of an Annual Conference the 
presidency of the Conference shall pass to the 
bishop resident in the group of which it forms a 
part, and shall so remain until thirty days before 
the session of the next ensuing Annual Confer- 
ence." 

The bishops, it was directed, shall "arrange the 
77 



THE ITINERANCY 

Conferences in America in three divisions, and 
shall assign each bishop for presidential adminis- 
tration to the Annual Conferences of the division 
within which he has his official residence." 

The bishops divided the American Conferences 
into Eastern, Western, and Central divisions, and 
these were subdivided into nineteen groups, or 
"residential areas. 

This legislation was not a violation of the third 
Restrictive Rule, which we again quote: "The 
General Conference shall not change nor alter any 
part or rule of our government so as to do away 
episcopacy, nor destroy the plan of our itinerant 
general superintendency," because: 

1. Bishops are not elected for localities or resi- 
dential areas, but to the general superintendency 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Later assign- 
ment to an area for a definite period does not 
change this fact. 

2. No bishop is consigned to an area for a longer 
period than four consecutive years, though suc- 
ceeding General Conferences may return a bishop 
to the same area for successive quadrenniums. 
The will of the General Conference is the only 
limit. The possibility of continuous supervision 
through a long term of years is for most of the 
bishops only a remote contingency, for the vacan- 
cies occasioned by death and retirement will make 
a general rearrangement of official residences 

78 



THE EPISCOPACY 

necessary by each succeeding General Confer- 
ence. But in cases of necessity or unusual fitness, 
there should always be the possibility of reappoint- 
ment. The present law does not make it necessary 
for a bishop to preside over each session of every 
Annual Conference in his area for four years. The 
bishops are free to exchange presidencies. This 
they have done under the new system, and will 
doubtless so continue whenever it seems desirable. 

3. The authority of a bishop is not limited to his 
residential area. He is a general superintendent, 
and may exercise the functions of his office when- 
ever and wherever called upon. 

The essential mobility of the episcopacy is pre- 
served. With thirty bishops in America the prob- 
lem of location and a just division of labor is not 
so simple as when there were two or three bishops. 
The drastic, but legal action of 1912 was the ade- 
quate solution. 

Kesidential Administration Approved by the 
Church 

It was hailed as legal, logical, natural, and 
necessary. As its first quadrennium drew to a 
close few dissentient voices were heard, and no 
serious effort was made in the General Conference 
of 1916 to repeal the new legislation. Consider 
some of its advantages: 

1. It applies the itinerant principle to the 
79 



THE ITINEKANCY 

episcopacy. Why should the bishops choose their 
residences by seniority — the former method — and 
the same privilege be denied the preachers? If 
the preachers could not be trusted voluntarily to 
select the churches they ought to serve, would not 
the bishops show equal errancy in judgment? 
They would, and they did! It must be remem- 
bered that bishops are elders in the Church of God, 
consecrated — not ordained — to a distinctive work. 
They are still Methodist preachers, of the rank 
and file, and it is logical that their appointments 
should be "fixed," just like their brethren of 
humbler degree, not order. 

2. It permits intelligent distribution of the 
bishops. Just as "one star differeth from an- 
other," so, while a bishop is a bishop, all bishops 
are not the same bishop. And there is a choice 
between bishops, just as there must always be a 
choice in any given group of men. The present 
method is scientific and humane. The General 
Conference gives this question to the "Committee 
on Episcopacy." It is carefully considered by a 
subcommittee on "Assignments." The bishops are 
invited to appear before this subcommittee and 
state their desires. Any delegate to the Confer- 
ence, member or members of the church from the 
various residential areas, may ask for the reten- 
tion or removal of the incumbent, or present the 
name of the bishop desired for the next quadren- 

80 



THE EPISCOPACY 

nium. The decision of the subcommittee is sub- 
ject to revision by the General Committee. Even 
the decision of the General Committee is not final. 
It must run the gantlet of the General Confer- 
ence before becoming the law of the church. 
Only after having been discussed in the subcom- 
mittee and the General Committee, and having 
received the approval of the General Conference, 
is the assignment final. Is not serious error 
thereby rendered impossible, and does it not 
make for better service than would a system 
ruled by seniority? 

3. It definitely identifies the leaders of the 
church with the strategic centers of population. 
The church's finger is kept on the nation's pulse. 
Each geographical segment has intelligent and 
systematic leadership. The bishop is strong 
enough and is there long enough to make his name 
known and his influence felt. 

Methodism is no longer a society, locating its 
modest chapels in alleys and side streets ; standing 
in the shadows with downcast eyes and apologetic 
mien, while the endless procession of human 
events, with its banners and bands, its songs and 
its sobs, its pilgrims with crosses and its armies 
with cannon, its laughing boys and girls, and its 
age-enfeebled men and women, its bridal parades 
and its funeral trains, goes marching by. No, 
indeed! Methodism has come out of the alleys, 

81 



THE ITINERANCY 

away from the back streets, and has taken its 
stand on the great highways of life. Methodism 
has a message for the world, a mission to the ages ! 

To do this great work the church must occupy 
strategic centers with its greatest men. They 
must see clearly, think accurately, and speak 
authoritatively. They must know how to inter- 
pret the mind of the church to the world, and how 
to relate the church to all the great movements 
of the race. These foremost sons of the church 
must stand at the crowded cross roads of life, 
where the currents of human thought and pas- 
sion run the swiftest and leap the highest, and 
turn them toward the cross. 

4. The residential area assigns each bishop to 
local responsibilities. He is definitely located for 
a quadrennium. He cannot maintain an ecclesias- 
tical residence in one place and an actual resi- 
dence elsewhere. He must become a part of the 
life of his area, familiar with its limitations, prob- 
lems, and opportunities ; he must give his time and 
strength to willing service within his official juris- 
diction, and render an account of his stewardship 
to the succeeding General Conference. 

The assumption of increasing local responsi- 
bilities is inevitable. Bishops are multiplying 
more rapidly than Annual Conferences, reducing 
the time demanded for technical administration, 
and making larger areal service possible. 

82 



THE EPISCOPACY 

The present system leaves much to be desired so 
far as the outlying sections of an area are con- 
cerned. It is natural for the bishop to become 
closely identified with the work nearest his resi- 
dence. But is this just to the remoter churches? 
Those who need the bishop the least see him the 
most ; while those who probably need him the most 
see him the least. 

If a district superintendent were privileged to 
determine the manner of his supervision, would it 
be done as systematically and thoroughly as under 
the careful plan of the Discipline? He may visit 
every church four times or three times each year, 
but he must visit each church twice every year: 
every church — not only the immediately accessible, 
but the remotely inaccessible. If left to himself, 
would not the locality in which he resides receive 
the major portion of his time ? It is not suggested 
that the bishop be held to such minute supervision, 
but the next logical step in residential administra- 
tion is a just apportionment of his time to the 
various sections of his area. 

Local responsibilities should keep the bishops 
from becoming professional lecturers. The church 
has always been proud of their great pulpit and 
platform gifts, and has given them the largest 
liberty in the employment of time not utilized by 
official duties; but there is increasing conviction 
that a bishop cannot roam the continent at the 

83 



THE ITINERANCY 

behest of a "bureau" without leaving his home 
fields untilled. A residential area is large enough 
and important enough to absorb the energies of 
one man, however great. 

5. The residential area will bring the bishops 
into frequent contact with their official confreres, 
the superintendents of districts, and the men who 
are to become such. Perhaps the most delicate 
and difficult work committed to the bishops is 
that in connection with district supervision. They 
have complete control of this great arm of the 
church, determining the number of districts and 
their boundaries in every Annual Conference and 
selecting their superintendents. Upon the intelli- 
gent and fearless exercise of that power much of 
the prosperity of the church depends. 

What can a strange bishop do with a Cabinet 
of strangers? Hasty judgments are necessarily 
superficial and rarely accurate. Such a bishop 
will not know how to estimate the advice of his 
superintendents ; will be unable to detect the tinc- 
ture of selfishness, if it exists; will not understand 
the underlying reasons for the recommendations ; 
cannot tell whether the critical appointments are 
wise or otherwise; and, worst of all, will not know 
what changes are needed in the Cabinet. When 
the statute of limitation makes new superintend- 
ents necessary their selection will be but drawing 
the bow at a venture. 

84 



THE EPISCOPACY 

Kesidential supervision gives the bishops the 
necessary information to break up the pernicious 
term idea as applied to the district superintend- 
ency. When the church had a pastoral limit of 
two, three, or five years, no preacher ever con- 
sidered that the first appointment was for the 
entire term of two, three, or five years. Each 
appointment was for a single year. But that idea, 
so excellent in the pastorate, has never been ap- 
plied to the district superintendency (the presid- 
ing eldership). It is taken for granted that the 
district superintendent is appointed for a "term," 
once four and now six years. His reappointment 
is a mere formality. This has been a grave mis- 
fortune to the church, and has kept many men 
in a position which they were ill qualified to fill. 
If the stranger bishop sensed the truth, he prob- 
ably would not know what to do. For fear of 
making another mistake, he would repeat the 
blunder of his predecessors. Under the residen- 
tial plan the bishops should know whether their 
superintendents are worthy of reappointment. 

6. The residential area will enable the bishops 
to participate intelligently in the discussions of 
the Cabinet. Bishops have been compelled to 
depend too largely upon the judgment or whim 
of the superintendents. The bishop did not know 
enough about the majority of cases discussed in 
the Cabinet to have an independent opinion. It 

85 



THE ITINERANCY 

was impossible for him to acquire this information 
in four or five days. 

The bishop who attempted to make independent 
adjustments was usually mistaken. There were 
subtle factors which he did not see — obvious truths 
were often the superficial facts. The residential 
bishop will not be so generally dependent upon 
subordinates. He cannot know his area without 
knowing his preachers, and information absorbed 
is always much more reliable than information 
imparted. 



8« 



CHAPTER IV 
THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

Methodism was not built from blue prints, 
drawn to scale by a great ecclesiastical architect, 
but grew as the tree grows: first the seed, then 
the seedling, next the trunk, then the branches. 
Methodism was not thought out, but grew out of 
the germinal seed. There was no effort to coerce 
Providence to think its way, but providential indi- 
cations were fearlessly followed, however strange 
the pathway. 

The rapid growth of the church demanded 
auxiliary supervision. While Bishop Asbury re- 
mained intimately acquainted with every preacher, 
every church, including much of its membership, 
every backwoods preaching place and crossroads 
appointment, he might station the preachers with- 
out assistance. But presently the church grew 
beyond his knowledge. Preachers multiplied by 
the score and members by the thousand. There 
were preachers he did not know, churches he had 
never seen, and remote appointments he could 
never visit. Administration became complicated 
and uncertain. The happy solution of the sacra- 

87 



THE ITINEKANCY 

mental controversy led to the ordination of twelve 
men, who were instructed to administer the sacra- 
ments within certain designated areas. This re- 
sulted in the presiding eldership, now the district 
superintendency. 

No part of the economy of the church has oc- 
casioned greater controversy, been so imperfectly 
understood, or made larger contributions to the 
efficiency of the system. Those interested in the 
utility of the superintendency will find it dis- 
cussed elsewhere. 1 

While the present aim is an exposition of the 
superintendency, rather than a discussion of its 
achievements or defense of its existence, it is well 
to listen for a moment to what Dr. Abel Stevens, 
Methodism's greatest historian, and one of the 
keenest expositors of her economy, has to say of 
the district superintendency. 2 

"We have no hesitancy in saying that no other 
function of the system — not excepting the episco- 
pacy itself — is capable of greater usefulness, or 
could be sacrificed with greater peril. The episco- 
pacy could not possibly proceed without it; but 
the presiding eldership might possibly operate the 
system without the episcopacy, though with 



1 The District Superintendent, Asset or Liability? James A. 
Hensey. The Methodist Book Concern, 1915. Chapter III, 
page 42. 

2 Church Polity, Abel Stevens, D.D. Carlton & Porter. Chapter 
VI, p. 188. 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

clumsy inefficiency — the episcopacy exerts great 
and salutary influence through the church by its 
itinerant preaching and counsel ; but the influence 
of the presiding eldership is on a scale more effec- 
tive, because more systematic." The italics are 
Dr. Stevens's. 

Weigh well those amazing words: "The episco- 
pacy could not possibly proceed without it." Have 
the bishops, or any one of them, ever suggested 
that thej did not need the district superintend- 
ency? Have they, or any one of them, belittled 
the information brought into the Cabinet by their 
subordinates ; or, has it ever been asserted by the 
bishops, or any one of them, that the appointments 
could have been made with greater celerity or 
safety if they had not been fettered by meddle- 
some superintendents; or, have the bishops, or 
any one of them, ever asserted privately or pub- 
licly that they had been ignorantly advised or 
intentionally deceived by the members of their 
various Cabinets? 

If it were possible for the bishops to operate the 
itinerancy without the district superintendents, 
would they not long since have made that discov- 
ery and announced it to the world? Dr. Stevens 
frankly confessed that "the episcopacy could not 
possibly proceed without" the superintendency ; 
but he thought the superintendents might oper- 
ate the system without the episcopacy, though 

89 



THE ITINEKANCY 

with decreased efficiency. And he was right. 
Though superintendents have the necessary infor- 
mation to operate the system, that information 
must be collected by one mind, collated by one 
judgment, and the decisions rendered by one will. 
District superintendents could no more manage 
the system indefinitely without bishops, than 
could opposing attorneys-at-law settle their cases 
without judge or jury. 

The utility of the district superintendency has 
been recognized since its introduction, and there 
has never been a general disposition on the part 
of the church to consider its abandonment. The 
principal contention has been over the mode of 
selection rather than any serious question of the 
value of the office. 

An elective presiding eldership, long a subject 
of ardent debate throughout the church, was 
finally adopted by the General Conference of 1820, 
by the decisive majority of sixty-one to twenty- 
five. The new law provided for the nomination 
of elders by the presiding bishop, and election by 
the Annual Conference. The presiding elders 
were also made the advisory council of the bishop 
in stationing the preachers, though in the Disci- 
pline for eight years these provisions were never 
put into operation. Joshua Soule, who had been 
elected bishop, refused ordination on the ground 
of the unconstitutionality of the new law. His 

90 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

resignation was accepted, and the Conference re- 
mained unmoved until the venerable McKendree, 
the senior bishop of the church, came before the 
Conference with a formal protest against the new 
measures, as being contrary to the Restrictive 
Rules, and subversive of an efficient itinerancy. 
His words made a profound impression. Refusing 
to reconsider its action, the Conference finally 
adopted a motion to suspend the operation of the 
law for four years. The General Conference of 
1824 continued the suspension, and it was finally 
repealed by the Conference of 1828. 

This same controversy, but in milder form, has 
occasionally run its course since that time. The 
present system has given such long and satisfac- 
tory service that the adoption of an elective 
system is an extreme improbability. Let us con- 
sider some of the advantages of the present sys- 
tem: 

1. It locates responsibility. One individual, 
and one only, is accountable for the successful 
operation of the itinerancy in every Annual Con- 
ference — the resident bishop. The whole system 
is placed in his hands. He may consult many, 
he must consult a select number, the superintend- 
ents of districts, and he may disregard the wishes 
of all, but he cannot escape responsibility. His 
administration is not embarrassed by unnecessary 
checks, nor his judgment thwarted by combina- 

91 



THE ITINERANCY 

tions in the Cabinet or elsewhere. He has great 
power, it is true, but an efficient itinerancy is 
impossible without centralized power, and it had 
better be in a responsible individual than an irre- 
sponsible Cabinet. This responsibility ceases 
when an Annual Conference is given power to sur- 
round the bishop with authoritative advisers, who 
have power to impose their will upon him. 

2. It promotes the selection and retention of 
capable superintendents. Men are not voted into 
positions for which they have been adroitly candi- 
dating, but are carefully selected to meet grave 
responsibilities. A mistake in selection may be 
quickly corrected, but an election must be for a 
definite term from which there can be no escape. 
Bishops know the type of men needed for the 
superintendency, and their knowledge of the 
preachers in their area should make certain the 
selection of efficient men. 

Acute dissatisfaction with the superintendency 
has usually been traced to the officer rather than 
the office. Many believers in the office have not 
hesitated to charge the bishops with carelessness 
in the selection of superintendents. The bishops 
should regard the confidence reposed in them as a 
high honor and a grave responsibility. No other 
duty is fraught with such consequences to the 
church. That their selections for the superintend- 
ency are made hastily, carelessly, dictated by 

92 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

selfishness, or controlled by ulterior motives, can- 
not be admitted or even suspected. The church 
has jealously guarded their right to freedom of 
choice, and has permitted no impediment, minor 
or major, to divert their mature judgment. Is it 
too much for the church to expect that the bishops 
will put into the superintendency not only the 
best men easily available, but the best men, 
whether easily available or not? 

It is much easier for the wrong man to be 
elected than for him to be accidentally selected. 
Many considerations enter into an election, only 
one into a selection — fitness. 

3. The present system reduces friction, over 
selection, to the minimum. It is inconceivable 
that the selection of six or eight men out of the 
two, three, or four hundred preachers of an An- 
nual Conference should not provoke discussion, 
some difference of opinion, and, however and by 
whomsoever chosen, occasion some friction. No 
method could give universal satisfaction, as there 
must always be disappointed aspirants and their 
friends. Therefore, a system which leaves little 
opportunity for the formation of parties, hostile 
groups, or antagonistic partisans ; which does not 
encourage electioneering, the circulation of griev- 
ous rumors, to be followed by reckless charges 
against the 3uccessful, and which leaves no bitter- 
ness in the hearts of defeated candidates — in 



THE ITINEKANCY 

short, that system which gives the least oppor- 
tunity for the manifestation of certain weaknesses 
incidental to humanity, should be prized by the 
church. 

Standing in the blazing light shed upon this 
question by more than one hundred and thirty 
years of actual history, supplemented by observa- 
tion and experience extending over a fifth of that 
period, it may be freely asserted that the church 
has always had that kind of a system — a system 
which prevents instead of provoking criticism, 
which diminishes instead of creating friction, 
which keeps brethren united instead of dividing 
them into hostile groups or warring factions. 

It is evident that the bishops follow the same 
method in selecting men for districts that they do 
in appointing pastors: the obvious men, deemed 
the fittest, and the most generally desired, are put 
into the superintendency. To say that the bishops 
have never gone contrary to the wishes of an 
Annual Conference, that they have never been 
influenced by personal friendships, nor allowed 
distant colleagues to control their actions, would 
be ridiculous. But to say that these have been 
the occasional discrepancies, inevitable in any 
man-directed enterprise, is the simple truth. 

Consider the inevitable divisions created in an 
Annual Conference by an elective system. Una- 
nimity of choice would be rare. Whether selected 

94 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

from a designated number nominated by the An- 
nual Conference, or elected from a designated 
number selected by the bishop, or elected by 
direct vote of the Conference, there would be many 
candidates for each district. Each would be sur- 
rounded by his friends, busy in advocating his 
claims, and questioning those of his rivals. 

Inquiry and discussion are inevitable in elec- 
tions. Discussion easily degenerates into undue 
laudation of one candidate and depreciation of 
others. Preferences easily change to partisanship, 
and lead to electioneering. Ecclesiastical poli- 
ticians would be quickly developed. Men apt at 
combinations would find an inviting field. Cam- 
paigns would be launched months in advance; the 
Conference would be threaded back and forth by 
electioneering itinerants; alliances would be 
formed by different sections, promises and under- 
standings would be inevitable, and every election 
would leave its aftermath of discord. 

And the harvest, would it not be dreadful ? The 
"spoils" system in the church — the successful can- 
didate surrounded by his partisans, claiming 
credit, and insinuating emoluments for themselves 
— claims which the beneficiary could not disallow ! 
His administration would be embarrassed by the 
debts he would be expected to pay. The defeated 
candidates would be critical, if not belligerent. 
Some, located in the same district, would be cen- 

95 



THE ITINEKANCY 

ters of discontent. Distrust would be mutual, and 
all would be getting ready for the next battle of 
ballots ! 

4. The present system gives the church an inde- 
pendent superintendency. A few friends may 
have interceded, but the number is always negli- 
gible, and possible beneficiaries are reduced to the 
minimum. In many cases there is no intermediary 
— the bishop makes a direct, independent choice. 
A superintendency weighted with prior obliga- 
tions would be intolerable. 

Individual grievances are unavoidable. Be the 
superintendent never so careful and efficient, 
there will always be disappointment and dis- 
satisfaction in individual cases. One preacher 
insists that he has been held back long enough; 
another fixes his eye upon definite advancement 
and demands it as a right; still another de- 
mands restoration to a mythical "grade," while 
a fourth declares that he has stood aside long 
enough while inferior men have moved to the 
front. What would an elected superintendent 
do in these emergencies? Unless a superman there 
is only one thing he could do : give the malcon- 
tents the best he had instead of the best they 
deserved — a reversal of the present order. 

The bishop who selects a superintendent for 
office cannot, by any stretch of imagination, be- 
come a claimant upon his bounty. The superin- 

96 



THE DISTKICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

tendent of a district need not fear disappointed 
place-seekers. The bishop will soon accurately 
estimate his worth. A few sessions of the Cabinet 
will show whether he considers the office a splen- 
did opportunity to help his friends and punish his 
foes, or whether he realizes that Providence has 
exalted him to a position of gravest importance, 
where he will be called to handle the most delicate 
interests of the Kingdom, and where only clear 
thinking and fearless decisions, unmixed with 
selfness, can be tolerated. If district superin- 
tendents feared preachers less and bishops more, 
it would be great gain to the church. It must be 
conceded that if the present appointive system 
does not give the church an independent superin- 
tendency, it is forever impossible. 

Importance of Choosing Right Men for the 
superintendency 

It is a recognized principle that responsibility 
demands authority. Unless the master mechanic, 
superintendent, or foreman has a free hand in the 
selection of subordinates, he cannot be held re- 
sponsible for the failure which he did not have 
the power to avert. The same principle is true 
of all enterprises, whether military, civil, manu- 
facturing, or religious. 

As has been emphasized, if there are careless, 
97 



THE ITINERANCY 

incapable, or unworthy superintendents of dis- 
tricts in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the re- 
sponsibility must be traced directly to the bishops. 
The whole matter of selection and retention is left 
with them. That they should be held to the 
strictest accountability is both right and reason- 
able. 

Principles in Selection 

1. The fact that he is appointing a man who, in 
all probability, will hold the office for six years, 
should cause the bishop to exercise extreme cau- 
tion. It will help but little for him to take refuge 
behind the statement: "It must be understood 
that this appointment to the district superintend- 
ency is for one year. This brother must not con- 
sider that he is appointed for a term longer than 
twelve months." The good bishop may mean 
exactly what he says, but it will not turn out that 
way. "This brother" is there for six years. The 
man knows it, so does the Conference, and so does 
the bishop — not because the bishop cannot help 
himself, but because he will not ! 

It is too hard, so long as the unfortunate time 
limit on the district superintendency remains, to 
remove a man, and too easy to reappoint him for 
it ever to be otherwise. The superintendent will 
claim the right of reappointment. His predeces- 
sors have enjoyed the same privilege since the 

98 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

days when the office was young. Why should he 
be discriminated against? Incompetency may 
be known but cannot easily be proven. He will 
have apologists and defenders. Those most con- 
versant with the facts may be the least inclined 
to speak. Sympathy is easily created for the 
imperiled. Removal means ruction. He only has 
two or three more years to serve, why not give him 
the benefit of the doubt? 

The only solution is the removal of the present 
time limit. 3 It is recognized that the bishop may 
cut the Gordian knot if he will, but it is a fair 
presumption that he will not. This consideration 
renders the selection of superintendents of dis- 
tricts extra hazardous, and should increase the 
demand for greater caution. 

2. A bishop should not resign his right of choice. 
Many will be willing to discharge this duty for 
him. Influential laymen interested in ministerial 
friends and ministerial aspirants — all should have 
free access to the bishop, who should welcome a 
full statement of their claims — then he should 
make the decision. It is unfortunate for an An- 
nual Conference to reach the conclusion that a 
bishop is incapable of independent action; that 
one or two individuals, lay or clerical, are really 



3 Those interested in this phase of the subject will find it fully 
discussed in The District Superintendent, Asset or Liability? 
James A. Hensey. The Methodist Book Concern, 1915. Chap- 
ters iv-x, pp. 98-182. 

99 



THE ITINERANCY 

permitted to decide the incumbency of districts. 
Personal friendship should not jeopardize the 
bishop's freedom of action. If he permits himself 
to become the registrar of other men's opinions, 
suspicion and fear will be bred in the hearts of 
those who should implicitly trust him. 

3. Neither should he be fettered by promises or 
serious understandings prior to the session of the 
Annual Conference. An appointment that seems 
easy and desirable in the distance is often im- 
possible and undesirable when one faces all the 
facts. Hopeful aspirants easily magnify the most 
conservative statements. While the utmost free- 
dom of expression should be encouraged on the 
part of all who approach him, no definite state- 
ments, positive promises, or fugitive intimations 
should fall from his lips. 

Later events or information may make it de- 
sirable for the bishop to change his mind. It is 
not always possible, even one week before the 
assembling of an Annual Conference, to know just 
what should be done. Changes may occur in that 
critical period which will make prior plans im- 
possible, and the whole situation may have 
changed when it comes before the Cabinet. 

The bishop may find it necessary to change his 
mind. What, then, will he do with his "definite 
statements, positive promises, or fugitive intima- 
tions"? They must be conveniently forgotten, 

100 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

openly broken, or consummated against his better 
judgment. The first is impossible, the second un- 
thinkable, the third regrettable. 

The bishop's problem is twofold: getting right 
men for the districts, and satisfying the unse- 
lected. If there are no "broken vows and disap- 
pointments thickly scattered all the way," the 
latter will be simple of solution. 

What would be thought of a judge who gave 
"definite statements, positive promises, or fugi- 
tive intimations" concerning his decision in im- 
pending actions? Neither judge nor jurors ought 
to know what they will do until the evidence, all 
of it, has been presented and the pleas made. 

The issues involved in the selection of a district 
superintendent are of the utmost gravity. The 
bishop who gossips about an impending decision, 
or intimates a practically impossible appointment, 
or encourages different aspirants for the same 
position, lacks both discretion and candor. 

4. Reasonable heed should be given to the 
wishes of churches and preachers in the selection 
of district superintendents, but the occasional ef- 
fort of a district to influence an impending choice 
by ballot has been uniformly frowned upon. It 
is well. What is directly denied should not be 
indirectly permitted. If, in an occasional emer- 
gency, an informal ballot should be requested by 
the bishop, and the same should be taken in his 

101 



THE ITINEKANCY 

presence and placed in his hands without scrutiny, 
no objection could be urged. 

The general consensus of opinion usually points 
in the right direction. Several facts should be 
remembered by the bishop: the preachers should 
have a superintendent in whose judgment, charac- 
ter, and administrative capacity they will have 
confidence. Most preachers and their families are 
helpless in the hands of a district superintendent. 
"The hopes and fears of all the years" are largely 
in the keeping of the judgment of this one man. 
Suppose they have little confidence in his judg- 
ment, and less in his administrative ability ? Sup- 
pose they know him to be a man of strong preju- 
dices, an intellectual slattern, without adminis- 
trative deftness, or strength in emergencies? Or 
— far more serious — suppose they think him capa- 
ble of moral vacillancy? The preachers can never 
respond to the leadership of such a man. It is 
also true that the churches quickly discover inca- 
pacity in a superintendent. They will not be 
satisfied to leave their interests in his hands, and 
great opportunities for service are therefore lost 
during such an administration. 

The bishop should carefully weigh the serious 
recommendations of laity and clergy. As the 
custodians of sacred interests, and as individuals 
whose vital affairs are in issue, they have the 
right to be heard, and it is altogether probable 

102 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

that they have information which the bishop 
needs. 

Changing Functions of the District Superin- 
tendenct 

As the church has grown in numbers and com- 
plexity of organization the superintendency has 
undergone significant changes. The Rev. J. T. 
Crane, D.D., says: "In the year 1814, when the 
whole number of communicants in the church was 
211,000, there were 398 circuits and stations, and 
forty-nine presiding elders' districts. These dis- 
tricts comprised, on the average, eight circuits 
and stations and twelve preachers each. These 
figures show, more conclusively than any mere 
statement to that effect could do it, that the 
chief work of a presiding elder was that of an 
evangelist. The Mississippi Conference, for ex- 
ample, contained in 1820 only eleven charges and 
fourteen preachers, and yet was divided into three 
districts, in one of which there were only two 
circuits and three preachers. To make it the sole 
business of one man to oversee the labors of two 
or three others would seem to be a criminal waste 
of the church's resources. It is evident that the 
presiding elder's duties were not merely, or even 
mainly, supervisory, but that he was expected to 
be at work all the time, helping his preachers at 
any point where there were special indications of 
103 



THE ITINERANCY 

success, conducting camp meetings, and exploring 
new fields. The preachers were many of them 
young, poorly prepared for the position which 
they occupied, and not a few of them failures 
in it." 4 

Of the forty-nine districts into which the church 
was divided in 1814, two of them were without a 
single ordained elder, and four more had only one 
each. During the first half century of the church, 
fully fifty per cent of the preachers located after 
a brief career. These incessant lapses created 
vacancies that had to be filled with new and un- 
trained men. The maturity, the executive ability, 
and the pulpit power of the ministry were largely 
commandeered for the eldership, where they could 
do the most good. These men officially explained 
and defended the doctrines of the church. 

But these conditions have passed. The frequent 
and bitter doctrinal controversies have ceased. 
The old-fashioned quarterly meeting, occupying 
two days, beginning with a sermon by the presid- 
ing elder on Saturday morning; the Quarterly 
Conference in the afternoon; another sermon, 
probably by the elder, in the evening; a love feast 
one hour and a half in length on Sunday morning, 
followed with a sermon by the elder of the same 
length, closing with the administration of baptism 
and the Lord's Supper, has long since passed 



4 Methodism and Its Methods, Nelson & Phillips, 1876. 
104 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

away. Everything was done deliberately. The 
people had come long distances and were loath to 
separate, even when the hour came ; the elder had 
no other engagement. 

To-day this leisurely Quarterly Conference is 
not even a golden memory with venerable Meth- 
odists — only a legend of bygone days. The great 
circuits, covering from one to six counties, have 
been divided and subdivided into smaller groups 
and stations. Instead of devoting two days to one 
Quarterly Conference, and still leaving every 
third Sunday vacant, the superintendent often 
holds from three to eight Conferences in one week, 
without a vacant Sabbath during the year, and 
even then must occasionally employ substitutes 
to do a part of the work. Instead of districts 
having from three to twelve charges, they now 
range from thirty-five to one hundred. 

During recent years there has been a marked 
tendency to reduce the number of districts and 
increase their size. Certain reasons have led 
to this change: the rapid improvement in travel- 
ing facilities, steam railways, the trolley, and the 
automobile (will a distant generation wonder why 
the aeroplane was not included?) ; and the good 
roads — macadam, concrete, asphalt, and brick, in 
every part of the country; the passing of the 
lengthy Quarterly Conference, giving the superin- 
tendent more time at his disposal ; and the desire 

105 



THE ITINEKANCY 

of the bishops to select the strongest men in the 
Annual Conferences for the superintendency, 
necessitating an increased compensation, possible 
only in a larger unit. 

The old time quarterly meeting and district 
supervision have not passed without cause. Suit- 
able in their day, they would be inapplicable to 
modern conditions. The original elder had no 
supervisory powers. His sole duty was to adminis- 
ter the sacraments "and perform all other rites 
prescribed by our liturgy." But two years later, 
in 1786, he was directed to "exercise within his 
own district, during the absence of the superin- 
tendents (bishops) , all the powers invested in them 
for the government of the church." This gave him 
vice-episcopal powers, and insured the perpetua- 
tion of the office. Quarterly meetings were origi- 
nally held by preachers in charge of circuits, but 
in 1792 the elder was directed to hold them, and 
"to call together at each quarterly meeting, all 
the traveling and local preachers, exhorters, stew- 
ards, and leaders of the circuits, to hear com- 
plaints and receive appeals." 

This was the first legal definition of the powers 
of the Quarterly Conference. Subsequent legisla- 
tion has enlarged these powers from time to time, 
until it has become the supreme executive body 
of the local church or circuit. All the business 
of the local church is either transacted in or re- 
106 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

viewed by the Quarterly Conference. Ministers 
generally are ordained and do not depend upon 
the superintendent for the administration of the 
sacraments; while the high standard of stability 
in the ministry and of efficiency in the pulpit 
renders the frequent and prolonged visits of the 
superintendent unnecessary. 

Type op Men Needed for District Administra- 
tion 

Each district, like every church, has an indi- 
viduality which demands recognition. A district 
is not simply a unit over which any capable 
preacher may be placed any more than a church 
is a unit to which any member of the Conference 
may be fittingly appointed. Preachers, churches, 
and districts, because of differing individualities, 
must have different treatment. 

It is obvious that no man should be put into 
the superintendency to "accommodate" the ap- 
pointments; that is, to make certain adjustments 
with references to churches and preachers possi- 
ble. While the superintendency is an appoint- 
ment, it is nevertheless of such unusual signifi- 
cance as to demand separate treatment. The 
bishop who jumbles together men of equal stand- 
ing and haphazardly selects one to be the super- 
intendent of a district, will probably make a seri- 

107 



THE ITINERANCY 

ous mistake. Many men capable of large service 
in the pastorate would be both unhappy and in- 
effective in the superintendency. 

Neither should the office be made a convenience 
to accommodate men unacceptable in the pastor- 
ate. The genius for local maladministration will 
be serious when applied to a district. Infelicities 
of temper and errancy of judgment will have 
wider scope and freer rein. A man with such an 
equipment should find his natural level in the 
pastorate, rather than be given artificial protec- 
tion by lowering the efficiency of a great adminis- 
trative office. 

If by any misadventure the Conference poli- 
tician gets into the office, he should either be re- 
moved at the earliest opportunity or relegated 
permanently to the list of undesirables at the end 
of his term. The superintendent who keeps re- 
minding the men advanced under his administra- 
tion, "Remember, I put you here"; or who says 
to those who leave his district for better places, 
"I saw that you were taken care of in the Cabinet, 
do not forget me" ; or who seeks out the younger 
men in the Conference and tells them what good 
things he hears about them, and how they ought 
to have larger recognition, and that he intends to 
provide for them at the earliest possible moment 
— such a man is taking advantage of his position 
for ulterior ends, and the best interests of the 

108 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

church, demand that he be speedily returned to the 
obscurity whence he was mistakenly lifted. 

Qualifications Needed for District Adminis- 
tration 

1. The superintendent should not be an adminis- 
trative experiment. He is "the applied end of the 
episcopacy." He is the field-director of the sys- 
tem. He should understand its implications and 
applications, just what the system is capable of 
doing, and how. 

He must be an expert in "ways and means." 
Helping to make the appointments is only the 
beginning of his work. New churches will need 
to be built. Maybe the pastor is without practical 
experience, and the local officiary has never faced 
such a task. They will turn to the superintendent 
for assistance. He should quickly diagnose the 
situation and point the road to victory. The pas- 
tors will have confusing administrative problems. 
Suppose they find him indifferent or incapable? 
There will be delicate adjustments growing out of 
the removal of pastors and the securing of new 
ones. What if the superintendent is whimsical 
in preferences, headstrong, or vacillating? He 
will need to lead great church-building, debt-pay- 
ing, and denominational campaigns for the be- 
nevolences, religious periodicals, educational and 
eleemosynary institutions. If he has aversion 

109 



THE ITINERANCY 

instead of inclination for such work, the interests 
of the church will be in jeopardy. 

2. Superintendents of districts should be ma- 
ture men. They need not be elderly or aged men, 
but the church cannot experiment with the man 
whose faith, judgment, character, aptitudes, and 
capacity are still in the experimental stage. The 
opportunities for miss-service are too great, and 
the responsibilities too vast, to be imperiled by 
moral or intellectual immaturity. The former 
title "presiding elder" emphasized, in the public 
mind, the age of the incumbent. "Elder," an offi- 
cer, and "elderly," a condition, were confounded. 
Presiding elders were generally expected to be 
grizzled veterans. 

There can be no valid objection to aged men 
serving the church in this or any other capacity, 
and some of the greatest superintendents the 
church has ever had have been advanced in years. 
It all depends upon the man. Some middle-aged 
men are children in speech and adolescents in 
judgment, while elderly men are occasionally of 
pathetic intellectual fatuity. Maturity should 
mean "demonstrated capacity for growth," in- 
stead of the number of years one has lived. Some 
men are old at twenty — their "capacity for 
growth" has been exhausted; while others are 
young at seventy — their "capacity for growth" is 
capacious. 

110 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

Until a preacher has been tried out in various 
types of appointments, has shown mastery in 
emergencies, skill in conquering difficult situa- 
tions, masterfulness in handling trying problems 
and people, demonstrated his loyalty to the polity 
and doctrinal standards of the church, and has 
learned how to "endure hardness as a good" itiner- 
ant, he had better not be put into the superintend- 
ency. 

3. The superintendent should be judicial in 
temperament. Some men are naturally impulsive, 
and "jump at" conclusions, concerning the accu- 
racy of which they are rarely in doubt. Such a 
man will make decisions in haste and repent at 
leisure. His best thoughts will be afterthoughts 
— when it is too late. When silence is golden his 
speech will be leaden. When there should be a 
padlock on his lips, the front door will be un- 
latched. When the judicious man, not knowing 
what to say, says nothing, he will say much that 
hurts because he does not know how to say the 
little that heals. 

His estimate of the preachers in his district 
will be tragic. He will form quick attachments 
and strong aversions. He will be indifferent to 
many and partial to a few. No administration of 
the office can be successful when preachers and 
churches question the judgment and fairness of 
the superintendent. The man who sees but one 

ill 



THE ITINERANCY 

side should be kept on the outside of the super- 
intendency. 

4. The superintendence^ demands men who will 
think cautiously, speak carefully, decide definitely, 
and take the consequences. The man without in- 
tellectual finality, who is now here, then there, 
and later nowhere ; who travels in a circle, and at 
the end of the interview fetches up at the begin- 
ning, and brings one all exhausted to the starting 
point, with nothing decided, will be curiously out 
of place in the superintendency. 

Yes, and he should quietly, without mock 
heroics, take the consequences. The superintend- 
ent who spends more time shifting responsibility 
than achieving results will have little of the latter 
and much of the former. The superintendent who 
hesitates because he cannot quite figure out how 
to place the responsibility elsewhere is a blunder 
and should not be tolerated. 

Many times the superintendent will have to 
decide quickly, finally, abiding the consequences; 
admitting his error if mistaken, explaining the 
processes by which it was reached if necessary, 
and defending its justice if attacked. Decisions 
must not be held in abeyance while he deftly 
weighs the question, "How will this affect me?" 
His sole duty is to the interests committed to his 
charge, the helpless churches and preachers de- 
pendent upon his skill, judgment, and character; 

112 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

his sole responsibility to the God whose cause 
should lie nearest his heart. 

5. As a preacher the superintendent should be 
above the average of his district. Certain com- 
munities will mistakenly measure his value by 
his public gifts. The capable administrator is 
often discounted because he is not a great 
preacher. 

It was a supply appointment back over the 
hills. The superintendent held the Quarterly Con- 
ference Saturday night, preaching Sabbath morn- 
ing and administering the sacrament of the Lord's 
Supper. 

"The next time the superintendent comes," it 
was suggested to the pastor, "you preach the ser- 
mon and let him administer the Lord's Supper !" 

The congregation knew the difference between a 
sermon and a colorless essay, monotonously read 
from a yellow manuscript. 

What must have been the estimate of that super- 
intendent in the influential churches, and among 
the leading preachers of his large district? Did 
the office take on new dignity and power, and 
exhibit its capacity for great service in the hands 
of such a man? Could the churches respect his 
judgment, or the preachers have confidence in his 
administrative capacity? There was limping and 
hesitancy throughout the district. 

While the superintendent need not be the peer 
113 



THE ITINERANCY 

of every preacher on the district, he should not 
be suggestively inferior to the best. His coming 
should be eagerly anticipated rather than patiently 
endured. The preachers do not want a superin- 
tendent for whose sermons they must apologize. 
The best traditions of the office should be main- 
tained. With the wealth of talent in the church 
of to-day the bishops are not limited to the choice 
of men who are poor preachers for the superin- 
tendency. 

Incomplete List 

It is not supposed that all the "desirable quali- 
fications" have been mentioned ; nor is it assumed 
that those considered have been adequately 
treated. It is a delicate subject, but that it needs 
discussion there can be no question. The church 
believes that the matter of selection should re- 
main with the bishops. To say the least, it is the 
lesser of two evils, though the church sometimes 
gazes in astonishment at the selected. 

The bishops rarely have freedom of choice in the 
appointment of pastors. Many minds must be 
consulted — laymen, pastors, superintendents. But 
in the selection of a district superintendent he is 
sole arbiter. No official committees threaten, and 
no hostile wills bar the way. Intimidators are 
imperiously waved aside by the church. None can 
molest the bishop nor make him afraid. His selec- 

114 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

tions for the superintendency should show the 
episcopacy at its best. Scarcely ever has an An- 
nual Conference been held but that the presiding 
bishop has deprecated the tendency on the part 
of churches and preachers to interfere with the 
appointments, insisting that better results could 
have been achieved if the whole matter had been 
left in the hands of the authorities. Well, the 
bishops have opportunity, in the unfettered selec- 
tion of superintendents of districts, to demon- 
strate their thesis! 



115 



CHAPTER V 

THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

(continued) 

Little Done to Help the Superintendent 

A preacher is suddenly thrust into the super- 
intendency. How shall he begin and where? He 
is a man of intelligence, and desires to acquaint 
himself with the literature upon the subject. He 
sends to the Book Concern, which has been pub- 
lishing defenses and elucidations of the itinerancy 
for over a century and a quarter, for a list of its 
publications upon the office and duties of the dis- 
trict superintendency. 

If he were to ask for a catalogue of publications 
upon the ministry, its inception, preparation, 
duties, and the solution of its problems, it 
would have to be sent by freight. Hundreds of 
books have been published to teach preachers, 
young and old, the intricacies of their profession. 
The entire field has been traversed many times, 
so that one may read until wearied, and learn 
until surfeited. In addition, there are preparatory 
schools, colleges, and theological seminaries, pro- 
vided at great cost and maintained at enormous 

116 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

expense, by the church, where young minds are 
drilled and kneaded into shape for the ministry. 

Of all that human patience in learning and 
human skill in teaching can do to give the church 
an efficient ministry, nothing remains undone. 

How much does the church do for the district 
superintendent? Is there a school of instruction 
to which he may go, or an extensive literature to 
which he may turn ? An office that has borne such 
an honorable part in making the history of a great 
church, that has given the episcopacy some of its 
greatest men, the educational and administrative 
offices within the church many of their shining 
ornaments, and has had such a large place in the 
general achievements of the itinerancy — surely, 
such an office would have defenders many and 
expositors not a few. 

There have been defenders not a few and ex- 
positors none, if by exposition is understood an 
explanation of how the system works, rather than 
of what it accomplishes. Sundry individuals have 
set in order the achievements of the office, and 
have defended it as integral and necessary in an 
efficient itinerancy, but none has undertaken the 
severe task of telling the superintendent how his 
work should be done. There have been but two 
small publications, and they have been frank 
defenses of the office rather than expositions of 
its duties. 

117 



THE ITINERANCY 

Pastors are a constant inspiration to each other. 
Their problems are discussed in ministerial 
gatherings and district associations. The ground 
is gone over afresh every few years. But the 
duties of the district superintendent are never 
discussed anywhere, by anyone, under any cir- 
cumstances. The superintendency seems to be in 
a class by itself. Men go into it and come out 
of it, and nobody ever says anything about it. 
Its problems are delicate and complex, dealing 
in the most intimate way with the vital aspects 
of the itinerancy. Is it not curious that it should 
have evoked little or no constructive discussion? 

Suggestions as to Administration — Must Know 
His Preachers 

It is fundamental to successful administration 
that the superintendent should know the mental 
gifts, moral stability, doctrinal soundness, dialec- 
tical skill, capacity for industry, social qualities, 
pastoral fidelity, temperamental characteristics, 
skill under difficulties, and reserve strength for 
sustained enthusiasm on the part of each pastor, 
surely on his own district, measurably in the whole 
Conference. These facts cannot be gathered in a 
psychological clinic ; they must be gotten quietly, 
through natural channels of contact and commu- 
nication, without recourse to pad and pencil or 
118 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

use of statistical tables. Pastors and their families 
must not be made to feel that they are on exhibi- 
tion before the superintendent, or that he is weigh- 
ing their worth to the church every time he crosses 
their threshold or enters their community; and 
it is deemed inadvisable for him to make open, 
widespread or persistent inquiries of the officials 
and members of the church. 

If an official or member of the church criticizes 
the pastor, of course the superintendent should 
probe with a few judicious queries, just enough to 
learn the real situation, and then make as strong 
a defense of the pastor as the circumstances per- 
mit, and counsel moderation. If the pastor is 
commended, the superintendent should encourage 
the fullest expression of appreciation, gathering 
as much information about that particular pas- 
tor's special lines of efficiency as possible. Such 
a conversation will do the parishioner good, and 
give the superintendent needed information. 

The superintendent should take advantage of 
the many opportunities for prolonged conversa- 
tion with his pastors, and they should be encour- 
aged to talk about their work, habits of study, 
methods of sermonizing, pastoral work, and all 
the endless items connected with the active admin- 
istration of a parish. By these simple, natural 
methods, he will soon acquire a fund of useful 
information about every preacher on his district. 

119 



THE ITINERANCY 

But collecting data about men is one thing, 
while collating it into definite conclusions upon 
which quick, final, and important conclusions 
must be based, is another and far more important 
matter. The collector may not know how to sys- 
tematize his information or judge its value. His 
deductions may be confused or unreliable. 

However, it cannot be said too often or too 
strongly : This is the supreme task of the superin- 
tendent. If he fails here, spreading dismay in 
the ranks of the preachers and fear in the 
churches, in vain will be the display of ability 
elsewhere. 

Justice to the preachers demands the proper 
appraisal of their value. Most of these men are 
practically helpless in his hands, some entirely so. 
Their contentment in the ministry, their happi- 
ness in life, and their usefulness to the Kingdom 
await the annual decision of the superintendent. 
They have a right to expect what they deserve, no 
more, and certainly no less. That some will ex- 
pect and even demand what they do not deserve, 
or do not merit at this time, will probably be true. 
He must differentiate between the demand and the 
desert. But this is impossible unless he has an 
accurate estimate of each man's present capability 
and capacity for further growth. 

Justice to the church demands that he shall 
have accurate information about the preachers. 

120 



THE DISTRICT SUPEKINTENDENCY 

They look to him for reliable information. If he 
attempts to abuse the confidence reposed in him, 
future negotiations will be conducted without his 
knowledge, and his more worthy successors will 
be held in suspicion. The hesitancy to consult 
district superintendents is frequently charged to 
past alleged breaches of faith. 

It would be both foolish and criminal for the 
superintendent to exceed the bounds of propriety 
in the recommendation of men; foolish, because 
churches will quickly discover the disparity be- 
tween laudation and fact; criminal, because 
preachers will be humiliated and churches an- 
gered. 

It is apparent that the superintendent will be 
constantly confronted with two dangers, espe- 
cially if he does not easily and accurately measure 
men, namely, overestimation, and undervaluation. 
Tragedy lies in either extreme. And it is always 
easy to overestimate one's friends and undervalue 
one's foes. (It must be understood in this connec- 
tion, and throughout this work where similar 
language is employed, that "foe" is not used in 
the sense of enemy; it simply means men incapa- 
ble of mutual attraction.) 

How many hearts have been broken by over- 
valuation! To see a lad waddling around in his 
father's boots may be amusing, or a pert little 
miss trailing her mother's skirts interesting, but 
121 



THE ITINERANCY 

to see a grown man stretching to heights beyond 
his reach, smothered with problems he cannot 
solve, surrounded with tasks beyond his ability, 
is it not pathetic ? The more he attempts, the less 
he finishes; the greater his exertions, the more 
evident his failure ; the harder he tries, the less he 
satisfies. 

To advance every preacher as rapidly as pos- 
sible, and just as far as his talents warrant — just 
that far, and no farther — is one of the serious 
tasks of the superintendency. The superintendent 
must know where to stop. Judgment must not 
be dominated by sympathy or personal preference. 
It is his duty to discover where every man belongs 
this year. Maybe three years later some will be- 
long nearer the front. But present justice should 
not wait upon future probability. "Each preacher 
his just deserts this year" should be his motto. 

Undervaluation is always a possibility. It may 
be traceable to several causes. Some men develop 
slowly. Their gifts are moderate, and they do not 
crash noisily to the front, with blaring trumpets 
and flaring banners. But back in the forgotten 
places they are slowly growing, developing quali- 
ties of mind, graces of heart, and strength of 
character. Every district in Methodism contains 
some men who have outgrown their former selves, 
and need reappraisement. Others have never had 
a real opportunity to demonstrate their worth. 

122 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT 

Their appointments have been one succession of 
misfits. If the superintendent is convinced that 
conditions have been largely responsible for 
scanty results, these men should be given larger 
tasks. Still others may be suffering the conse- 
quences of early administrative errors. Their 
reputation for errancy of judgment should be 
revised, for they are stronger and wiser men. 
Their height should be measured again. 

It is not intimated that every preacher on the 
outskirts should be on the "inskirts." But it is 
insisted that no system is error proof. Inequities 
are the inevitable accompaniment of human judg- 
ment, be it never so carefully exercised. All sys- 
tems, in spite of checks, balances, and correctives, 
grievously err at sundry times and in divers ways. 
The itinerancy is no exception. And of all the 
evils of which an appointive system is capable, 
undervaluation is the most grievous. To give a 
man more than he deserves is bad enough, but to 
give him less, and keep it up for a series of years, 
is a tragedy. 

Neither is it intimated that the errors of over- 
estimation or undervaluation are frequently made. 
This discussion deals with possibilities, occasion- 
ally realized, and aims to point the road to safety. 

The Superintendent Must Know His Churches 
This is the corollary of the truth just empha- 



THE ITINERANCY 

sized. Knowing churches and preachers are the 
two halves of the one whole. But the halves must 
be patiently fitted together. This is the duty of 
bishop and superintendent. 

The superintendent will find the study of his 
churches absorbingly interesting. They will differ 
as radically in temperament as the preachers. 
Some will be phlegmatic and others asthmatic. 
Some will be eager for service and others would 
prefer war to work — like individuals in civil life. 
Some will be easily gratified and others never 
satisfied. Some will be naturally optimistic, and 
others preferably pessimistic. Some will be amen- 
able to reason and others an unreasoning menace. 
Some will be docile from principle and others in- 
fantile from practice. While characteristics are 
often traceable to location or environment, indi- 
viduals in the various official boards will usually 
be responsible. 

That is to say, individuals make churches, and 
a few strong individualities determine the charac- 
teristics of every church. Whether the member- 
ship is large or small, a few masterful minds 
operate the switchboard. The superintendent 
must establish friendly relations with these indi- 
viduals at the earliest moment. 

The superintendent must keep his finger upon 
the ruling pulse in every church. It would be the 
height of folly for him to ignore those gifted with 

124 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

expression and decision in the various officiaries 
with which he has to deal. 

Ignorance is one of the most prolific sources of 
discord among mortals. We easily tread upon the 
prejudices, stir the antipathies, and run counter 
to the peculiarities of those we do not know. A 
stranger will demand an explanation; a friend 
will request it. A friend will see our side of a 
difficult situation ; a stranger will see what he is 
looking for. The larger interests of the church 
and the success of his administration demand that 
the superintendent shall have a wide circle of 
friends in the district. 

In advising the bishop concerning the distribu- 
tion of preachers intimate and exact knowledge is 
necessary. Some churches are never a problem. 
Any industrious and fairly efficient man will do. 
There are no ancient feuds, peculiar tempera- 
ments, or doctrinal vagaries. But in other cases 
the greatest caution must be exercised. Any man, 
though gifted and reliable, will not do. There are 
particular types and temperaments to please or 
appease. The itinerancy is built for such emer- 
gencies. If the superintendent knows churches 
and preachers, how to make adjustments, and how 
to advocate them in the Cabinet, the system will 
reach its highest efficiency. 

The superintendent must not estrange his 
churches, nor create, in the several Quarterly Con- 
125 



THE ITINERANCY 

ferences of his district, an atmosphere hostile to 
his administration. His personal and official in- 
fluence will be lessened in such a community. Any 
trust reposed in the superintendent must be sa- 
credly kept. Most churches will rely upon the 
promise of the superintendent, and will not deem 
it necessary to have a representative at the Con- 
ference to see that it is neither forgotten nor vio- 
lated. No explanation, however voluble or elo- 
quent, will satisfy those who have once been 
deceived. 

"Calls" and "Invitations" 

Theoretically, the itinerancy is managed en- 
tirely from within. After consultation with the 
superintendents the bishop appoints the preach- 
ers. The district superintendent is the official 
representative of churches and preachers. Both 
have access to him, and to the bishop through him. 
In theory the matter ends here. It is presumed 
that the bishop and superintendents, knowing the 
gifts and graces of the preachers, the perils and 
prospects of the churches, will make the most 
equitable adjustments possible. The Annual Con- 
ference is usually in session five or six days, in- 
cluding the Sabbath, and perhaps the Cabinet had 
one or two meetings before the session opened. 
The Cabinet meets frequently and at length, hav- 
ing time for discussion, and the readjustment of 
126 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

tentative appointments. Tbej are gradually 
whipped into shape, and when completed are sup- 
posed to represent the mature judgment of men 
conversant with all the facts, who have considered 
every case from every possible angle, and whose 
single aim has been the glory of God and the ad- 
vancement of the Redeemer's kingdom. 

Such has been the theory from the beginning. 
Probably from eighty to ninety per cent of the 
appointments are made in exact harmony with the 
provisions of the Discipline, the entire matter be- 
ing left in the hands of bishops and superintend- 
ents. But all theories, however efficient, are sub- 
ject to modifications in practice. It is not pre- 
sumed that preachers or churches either could or 
ought to be indifferent in a matter of such vital 
moment to both. 

The history of the itinerancy shows that they 
never have been. One not acquainted with the 
system in operation might conclude that it cared 
for the preachers at the expense of the churches; 
that, being entirely operated by preachers, it 
would be natural for the ministry to have first 
consideration. But the opposite is true. The 
ministry is given reasonable protection. It is 
recognized that men cannot be carelessly bandied 
about and the system live. But when it comes to 
a matter of preference the church usually has the 
right of way. The cause is greater than the man. 
127 



THE ITINERANCY 

The itinerancy aims at justice to both, but the 
personal preferences and ambitions of the preach- 
ers cannot be permitted to imperil the church. 

Any seeming contradiction of this statement is 
usually traceable to ignorance or accident in ad- 
ministration, against which no system can be 
proof. 

But suppose the preacher is not satisfied with 
the conclusions of his superintendent, or the final 
decision of the bishop? What recourse does he 
have? None at all. The decision is final. Threats 
are futile. If he accepts the decision silently, 
and goes at his task quietly and earnestly — even 
though his heart may be heavy — the coming 
months will usually justify the wisdom of the 
Cabinet. 

The constant growth of the church, and the 
ever-increasing concentration of the population, 
made large and strong churches inevitable. The 
modest chapels of the early days have been gradu- 
ally replaced by stately ecclesiastical edifices. The 
early circuits, vast in extent, with several preach- 
ers and infrequent services, had to be abandoned. 
These large congregations met keen competition 
from the other denominations. They needed pas- 
tors with conspicuous ability. The local supply 
of such men is always limited. The denomination 
was searched for great men, or young men of 
great promise. The transfer system developed. 

128 



THE DISTKICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

But the habit of one generally becomes the custom 
of many, and churches of lesser degree have gradu- 
ally assumed the same prerogative, though con- 
fining their choice to the membership of the local 
Annual Conference. 

Traces of this tendency are found in the earliest 
history of the church. Direct negotiations, though 
constantly frowned upon as subversive of the 
itinerancy, have not been unknown since the days 
of Francis Asbury. Perhaps the custom has grown 
more pronounced in recent years, but it has not 
assumed alarming proportions. In the hands of 
capable superintendents of districts it becomes 
negligible. 

Of course, if this were universally practiced, the 
itinerancy would be at an end. Confusion, strife, 
and uncertainty would succeed the present or- 
derly succession of events. If generally practiced, 
the system would be robbed of its highest effi- 
ciency, and its existence imperiled. If the decision 
of a committee, without legal sanction, must be 
final, with no power of review by the Cabinet, or 
consideration by the bishop, intelligent super- 
vision would be at an end. 

The custom of churches, not content to leave 
their interests in the hands of legal authorities, 
varies. Some Quarterly Conferences will ask the 
superintendent to name a half dozen available 
preachers, and a selection will be made. The 

129 



THE ITINEKANCY 

process may be reversed, the Quarterly Conference 
naming a list of acceptable preachers, the final 
decision being left with the bishop. A committee 
is occasionally sent to the Annual Conference 
either to select a preacher, confer with the Cabi- 
net, or secure the one previously selected. Some- 
times a committee with power will be appointed 
several weeks, and even months, in advance of an 
Annual Conference, who will hear and interview 
prominent or promising preachers with a "call" 
in view. 

Danger lies in the last method. No provision 
exists which permits any individual, body, or com- 
mittee to supersede the authority of the bishop. 
No serious objection could be urged against a 
"request" for a certain preacher, but a "demand" 
is another matter. The custom probably began as 
a polite request, which has grown by usage into 
something quite other and stronger. 

And the attitude of the district superintendent? 
If he has his district well in hand, such situations 
will be few. Let a few items be mentioned : 

1. Incompetency in the superintendency in- 
creases this evil. A strong superintendent, in 
whose judgment the churches have confidence, 
and on whose word they have learned to rely, will 
generally be able to direct the choice of a Quar- 
terly Conference or committee. If the bishops 
w T ould carefully study the situation which they so 

130 



THE DISTKICT SUPEKIXTEXDEXCY 

generally deplore, they would find an inaccurate 
superintendency often responsible. When a 
church deems a superintendent unable to appre- 
ciate its real need, or questions his ability to speak 
with clearness and authority in the Cabinet, inde- 
pendent action will be the outcome. With strong 
preachers and wise administrators in the super- 
intendencv this evil should largely disappear. 

2. The superintendent should not hesitate to 
talk the matter over fully and freely with any 
Quarterly Conference, official board, or committee 
representing either body. He must not create an 
atmosphere of distrust. It is natural and com- 
mendable that these laymen should be interested 
in such an important event as a change in pas- 
tors. An attitude of indifference or dull acquies- 
cence would be a greater peril. Unless the situa- 
tion is abnormal, a frank discussion will usually 
result in leaving the matter entirely with the 
authorities. In such a conversation the superin- 
tendent should call attention to the itinerancy, 
what the system does, how it works, its advan- 
tages and difficulties, and then relate the whole 
matter to the question at issue. Personal ques- 
tions about ministers had better not be discussed 
in a Quarterly Conference or official board, but 
the superintendent could express himself freely to 
a committee. 

3. The superintendent should never go into a 

131 



THE ITINERANCY 

critical Quarterly Conference or meet a committee 
appointed for the purpose of hearing or interview- 
ing prospective pastors, without having a definite 
plan in his own mind — indeed, several of them. 
He cannot lead others to a light which he has not 
seen. And his plan must not be chimerical. This 
will be his greatest danger. His influence should 
not be frittered away by suggesting impossibili- 
ties. He must not try to tire the committee out 
by sending it after unavailable men, or by asking 
consideration for a long list of impracticables. 
The very best way is for the superintendent to 
think his way through to a definite conclusion, 
take the committee into his confidence, and en- 
deavor to have his decision accepted. 

Standing upon the letter of the law and refusing 
to discuss the matter, except in a casual way, 
with either Quarterly Conferences or committees, 
will prove a poor plan. Denouncing all commit- 
tees as extra-judicial, and all expressions of offi- 
cial opinion as un-Methodistic, will only increase 
the evil. Good motives are always a poor substi- 
tute for bad judgment. He should be brotherly 
and considerate to the last degree. 

4. His word given to a Quarterly Conference, 
official board, or committee should be as good as 
the bond of a king. Definite statements or 
promises should be made with great caution, but 
once made, should he observed to the letter. Some- 

132 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

thing more than doubtful adroitness should char- 
acterize an administration, or the future will be 
darkened with suspicion. 

Consulting the Quarterly Conference 

The entire work of the church is reviewed by 
the Quarterly Conference. Every item of possible 
importance is included, but no official inquiry is 
made concerning the pastor, his industry, useful- 
ness, or desire concerning retention or removal. 
To do so would precipitate needless and occasion- 
ally acrimonious discussion. Opportunity would 
be given small men to air petty grievances, vent 
small jealousies, and magnify minor defects. 

Under the significant question, "Is there any 
other business?" this subject may be considered. 
But this is accepting the inevitable rather than 
inviting it. Only in rare instances should the 
superintendent encourage its introduction. If he 
is burdened with an unacceptable preacher who 
either cannot or will not recognize the opinion of 
the church concerning his retention, and insists 
upon remaining in the face of serious opposition, 
the Conference should be led to take action, but 
never by the public request of the superintendent. 
In all other cases the subject should either be 
taken up with a small committee, or a few of the 
leading members of a Quarterly Conference. By 
this simple method better results will be achieved, 

133 



THE ITINERANCY 

and at much less cost to the peace of the church 
and happiness of the pastor. 

An occasional superintendent, apparently more 
anxious to escape responsibility than to preserve 
the system or promote harmony, has sown the 
seeds of future discord by asking, "Well, what 
about next year?" That man belongs to the 
"church military," and by the end of his term 
most of the churches on his district will have 
qualified for the regular army. 

A Rock of Offense 

Administrative dilettanteism should be avoided. 
Supervision does not mean inquisition. That in 
a superintendent is disrelished. Annoying inquiry 
into petty details of administration should be 
avoided. The superintendent can easily degene- 
rate into a busybody or a perpetual scold. Pastors 
must not have their freedom of action impaired. 
The interior situation should be intuitively sensed 
rather than mechanically acquired. 

This superintendent had been on the district 
a single year. He considered himself to the man- 
ner born. His Quarterly Conferences were grand- 
jury inquisitions. Officials squirmed and preach- 
ers winced. The endless (and needless) details 
unearthed were patiently recorded. The preachers 
were instructed to report statedly, and in person, 
at his downtown office. He lasted until Confer- 

134 



THE DISTKICT SUPEKINTENDENCY 

ence. After the smoke had cleared away, leaving 
him ensconced in the pastorate once more, he 
asked one of the pastors on his former district, 
an ex-superintendent, why he had been so urgent 
for his removal. "Because," was the reply, "you 
are a pettifogger." Little disposition will be 
found on the part of either churches or pastors 
to conceal essential facts, but both may be an- 
noyed by insistence upon trifling details. 

An Unsafe Standard 

The superintendent should not expect every 
preacher to be an inferior edition of himself, nor 
think that everything should be done as he used 
to do it, only not quite so well! It must not be 
assumed that there is only one way to manage 
a church — his way — a way adapted to his person- 
ality and gifts. Perhaps there are a hundred 
other ways just as good ; ways that grow logically 
out of local situations, and are particularly 
adapted to the talents of the men who originate 
them. The venturesome preacher should not be 
frowned out of countenance. "This is my way, 
walk therein, or walk the plank," would be a poor 
district motto. There are splendid men in the 
other denominations who "walked the plank" 
rather than submit to ignorant and selfish dicta- 
tion. Intellectual initiative is one of the finest 
gifts of God to man. All things are possible to 

135 



THE ITINERANCY 

him who retains it, and all doors are closed when 
it is lost. Foolish experimentation should be dis- 
couraged, but new departures — when no law is 
contravened and no custom outraged — should be 
encouraged. Even an occasional "great adven- 
ture" for the Kingdom should be assisted rather 
than resisted. 

Encouraging Young Preachers 

The superintendent should watch with special 
solicitude over the undergraduates in his dis- 
trict. Much depends upon getting started right. 
Blunders in administration, of far-reaching im- 
portance, may be easily made. Some men take 
naturally to the ministry, and easily fall into its 
exacting ways. Its requirements are sensed 
rather than gotten from books, living teachers, or 
dearly bought experience. Others learn slowly. 
Experience is substituted for intuition. Such men 
need counsel, not censure, though they will prob- 
ably mistake the former for the latter. 

Indifference or hostility will easily divert such 
men from the ministry. They should be helped 
by the conversations of the superintendent. He 
should seek opportunities for fellowship; and 
without inquisitiveness or a trace of censorious- 
ness, go over their administration — including 
some personal habits — and point out the better 
way. Being human, little appreciation may be 

136 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

expected, but in after years his counsel will be 
gratefully recalled. 

Indeed, the privilege of intimate fellowship and 
counsel with his preachers is one of the delights 
of the superintendency, and the source of much 
profit to the church. Its value may not be tabu- 
lated, but that it is real and considerable, most 
Methodist preachers will admit. Pastors should 
not hesitate to take the superintendent fully into 
their confidence. They have more to fear from 
what the superintendent does not know or only 
half knows, than from what he fully understands. 

Justice to All 

The superintendent must dissociate his ad- 
ministrative acts from personal bias. He must 
hold himself to absolute fairness toward the men 
he may not like. Likes and dislikes are often 
peculiar and even foolish. The superintendent 
should remember that, just as those who may not 
hold him in high esteem do not, in his judgment, 
have sufficient cause, so his aversions may be with- 
out justification. Preachers are to be judged by 
their efficiency, rather than by their personal at- 
tractiveness to a superintendent. He should mete 
that justice to these men which he probably once 
eagerly desired for himself, and may have occa- 
sion to covet again at no distant day. 

The superintendent must beware of undue par- 
137 



THE ITINERANCY 

tiality to personal friends. They may be so un- 
wise as to expect "personal" consideration. That 
it may be difficult for him not to accede to their 
wishes will permit of little question, and that his 
administration may be wrecked upon this treacher- 
ous coast is a possibility. In being true to him- 
self and his office the superintendent need not be 
untrue to his friends. He should not punish his 
friends, but he must not favor them. 

If his friends should not be punished because 
they are his friends, neither does their friendship 
merit reward. Neither rewards nor punishments 
should be meted to friends or foes. Both should 
find their normal place in his administration. 
His friends should not be unwarrantably ad- 
vanced, nor unjustly held back to escape criti- 
cism, nor demoted to prove impartiality. If he 
follows the manifest indications of Providence, 
not only will he enjoy immediate self-justification, 
but time will vindicate his decisions. 

Variety in Administration 

So much of the superintendent's time is taken 
in routine administration, that there is not much 
opportunity for individuality in other lines of 
endeavor. The Discipline provides certain obliga- 
tions that will consume the greater part of the 
year. Though routine in nature, these duties are 
of vast significance to the church. Their char- 
138 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

acter canuot be changed, nor the designated mode 
of procedure improved. 

The pastor is given large liberty in the manage- 
ment of his church. He is asked for results. They 
may be achieved in one way or another; the 
church is not particular. 

But a large measure of liberty is now granted 
the superintendent. The Discipline, in permitting 
the omission of the second and third Quarterly 
Conferences, recognizes their unimportance. They 
are without administrative significance in most 
parts of the church; they are relics of past con- 
ditions and are destined to ultimate elimination. 
The second and third Conferences are frequently 
combined. It is well to make the Sabbath midyear 
visitation, even though the Quarterly Conference 
is omitted. This time should be devoted to the 
remoter sections of the district. 

The church grew about the idea of Quarterly 
Conferences, and always associated the coming 
of the "elder" with their advent. In the larger 
communities the abandonment of two unnecessary 
Conferences is a relief. But rural Methodism 
will often charge the superintendent with indif- 
ference if one or both be omitted. The "elder" 
was paid for services rendered — the sermon just 
preached — and why should he be paid if he does 
not come? The idea of supporting an executive 
officer, whose duties make the itinerancy possible, 

139 



THE ITINERANCY 

is new and unacceptable. In this transitional 
period superintendents must be reasonable in the 
application of the permission granted by the 
Discipline. 

Beginning Promptly 

The first Quarterly Conference should be held 
as early in the year as possible. It will be difficult 
to lift the churches to a higher standard of sup- 
port after two or three months of the year have 
passed. This may not apply to churches where 
the new obligations are provided for in advance, 
but it is applicable to much of the village and 
most of the rural work. Little will be done in 
many of these churches until the superintendent 
comes. They are worthy of his careful attention 
and patient assistance. Indeed, if he is a wise 
administrator, he will give less time to the larger 
churches, where he is needed the least, and more 
time to the struggling fields, where he is needed 
the most. 

Time for Holding the Quarterly Conference 

This item must be carefully studied. On some 
circuits any week day, afternoon or evening, will 
do, while in other localities the Conference must 
be held on the Sabbath — if a fair attendance is 
desired. Some circuits will gather at any one 
of the appointments, while others will calmly 

140 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

ignore the whole matter, even the local appoint- 
ment in which it is held evincing a lukewarm 
interest. These facts should be quickly learned 
and the next bulletin built accordingly. 

The first Quarterly Conferences should, if pos- 
sible, be finished within two months after the 
close of the Annual Conference. This will leave 
from three to four months for the second and 
third Quarterly Conferences combined ; or, if they 
have been definitely abandoned, the superintend- 
ent may either systematically visit the churches 
on the Sabbath or conduct special campaigns with 
or without the assistance of the preachers of the 
district. The latter plan is strongly recommended, 
especially when the campaign is district wide, and 
a variety of talent employed. The late summer 
and early fall is the ideal time for such work, 
especially in rural sections. Traveling is good, 
and all the out-door conditions favorable to at- 
tendance. 

Special Campaigns 

The district might be covered with a series of 
rural church conferences, beginning Tuesday and 
closing on Friday. The various items of interest 
entering into rural religious work could be dis- 
cussed. A few subjects are suggested: "Meth- 
odism and the Eural Church," "Are the Methods 
of Methodism Adapted to the Solution of Present- 
ly 



THE ITINERANCY 

Day Rural Problems?" "The Rural Church a Com- 
munity Center," "The Relation of the Rural 
Church to National Welfare," "Should the Rural 
Church Have a World- Vision ?" Appropriate 
subjects can be multiplied indefinitely. 

The conference should be held in the most cen- 
trally located church of the circuit, and a sys- 
tematic effort made to promote attendance. The 
superintendent might send a note of invitation to 
every official member, urging the attendance of 
himself and family. The conference should begin 
at 10 a. m. The afternoon session might close 
with a love feast and brief sermon by the pastor. 
One or two subjects could be discussed at the 
evening session, and the day brought to a profit- 
able close with a stereopticon lecture. A com- 
munity dinner and supper, free of charge, should 
be served. The same program might be used for 
the entire campaign, with a change of speakers 
every two weeks. Such gatherings will inspire 
the churches, broaden the visiting clergymen, 
strengthen the bonds of unity throughout the dis- 
trict, and give the superintendent an excellent 
opportunity to become acquainted with preachers 
and people. 

The following year a similar campaign for the 
educational and benevolent interests of the 
church might be conducted. Every church in the 
district should be visited. An all-day convention 

142 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

will be found profitable for the larger towns and 
smaller cities, while a series of evening banquets 
could reach the larger churches in the populous 
centers. 

A district campaign for the church periodicals 
would be found profitable. If the program is 
carefully prepared and vigorously prosecuted, it 
will yield surprising results. This time not only 
every charge but every appointment in every 
charge, however small or remote, should be in- 
cluded. If the district has fifty or sixty charges, 
the campaign will take from three to four months. 
Not only should every appointment have a public 
meeting, but every absentee family should be 
visited. About one half the subscriptions will be 
gotten in this way. The follow-up work should 
be done by the pastor, assisted by the superintend- 
ent and visiting ministers. A whole day need not 
be given to a single appointment, morning and 
afternoon usually sufficing in one locality, while 
the evening service is held elsewhere. The inspir- 
ing story of the origin, progress, and power of 
Methodism should be told at these meetings. Sub- 
jects akin to the following might be used : "Provi- 
dential Preparation for Methodism," "Providen- 
tial Polity of Methodism," and the "Providential 
Progress of Methodism." The superintendent 
might follow with a brief address on the literature 
of the church, emphasizing its variety, importance, 
143 



THE ITINERANCY 

and high standard; making clear the severe com- 
petition to which it is subjected, and pleading 
for immediate subscriptions. Short-term sub- 
scriptions should be avoided. They are of little 
value, having expired before the subscriber has 
gotten interested in the stranger on the library 
table. If a fair subscription bonus is offered, a 
definite period of two years should be fixed. Such 
a campaign will quadruple the list of subscribers 
to the official Advocate. During this campaign 
the superintendent should use the Sabbaths in 
visiting the larger churches of the district, pre- 
senting the argument for the periodicals, and 
receiving subscriptions. He will find much fallow 
ground, and will often secure from fifty to one 
hundred subscribers in a single service. 

District campaigns will be capable of unlimited 
extension. If an educational institution needs 
endowment, the total sum can be divided equitably 
between the districts, subdivided between the 
churches (though the latter course is not always 
either desirable or necessary), and secured by 
districtwide campaigns, either simultaneously or 
consecutively, preferably the latter. If a hospital 
endowment, or an addition to the Retired Minis- 
ters' Fund is sought, success lies in the same direc- 
tion. A wandering agent, making an isolated 
appeal to an unwilling audience, with an uninter- 
ested pastor sitting impatiently by, will secure 
144 



THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

pennies where a district campaign, widely adver- 
tised, and carrying a corps of trained workers 
to all the churches, will quickly complete a large 
and difficult task. 

The organization of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church makes the prosecution of such work com- 
paratively easy. The churches are contiguous. 
They are found wherever folks live. By the cross- 
roads, in the valleys, on the hilltops, "in the wild- 
wood," where city throngs crowd the thorough- 
fares of life, in congested slums, basking on village 
streets or reposing under stately elms on the aris- 
tocratic square — in these places Methodism has 
built her altars on which the ancient faith glows 
with undimmed luster. In most sections two or 
three churches can be visited in a single day. 
The loyalty and hospitality of everywhere Meth- 
odists is a notable asset. A close bond of sym- 
pathy has always united ministry and laity. As 
early itinerants traveled their long, lonely circuits 
they sang, and truly : 

"No foot of land do I possess, 
No cottage in this wilderness." 

What pathetic wanderers they were! Many of 
them never sat at their own fireside, knew the 
love of wife, heard the happy shouts of children 
welcoming them home, or felt the eager clasp of 
loving arms about their shoulders. Marriage 

145 



THE ITINERANCY 

usually meant location, but some continued their 
work though absent from their families one, two, 
three, or even six months at a time. Their lonely 
hearts would have broken had it not been for the 
eagerness with which they were welcomed in the 
humble cottages of the people. May hospitality 
never become a tradition in Methodism ! 

The commingling of ministry and laity has been 
an asset to the church. It has kept the ministry 
in touch with the living world, preserving it from 
becoming theoretical and professional, and has 
established mutual bonds of esteem and affection. 
Modern life tends to isolation. The necessity for 
exchange of labor and protection, so common in 
new countries, no longer exists. We have little 
interest in those we do not know, have not helped, 
or who have not helped us. The district cam- 
paign will be an excellent corrective for these 
regrettable tendencies. 

The access of the superintendent to all the 
churches of his district is an item of great impor- 
tance. He can go anywhere, at any time, for any 
kind of a meeting he wishes to hold. His program 
is not open for either approval or reversal by 
preachers or churches. The campaign outlined 
would be impossible in a nonitinerant denomina- 
tion. Each church would have to be separately 
consulted. Local indifference and prejudice 
would have to be met and overcome. In some 

146 



THE DISTKICT SUPEKINTENDENCY 

cases preachers would hesitate, and in others 
churches would refuse, but in Methodism the 
superintendent sends his program, and the work 
begins! A few churches and communities may be 
unsympathetic, and sporadic opposition may 
occasionally appear, but it will be both impotent 
and unusual. 

A series of rural conferences built around a 
three or four days' visit by the resident bishop 
will be found inspiring. In many sections of the 
country the automobile will enable the bishop to 
reach from two to four conferences, strategically 
grouped, each day. The people of the open coun- 
try will come from far and near for the privilege 
of seeing and hearing a bishop — a privilege which 
many have never enjoyed. 

The financial systems of the village and rural 
churches should receive special attention. Many 
will be burdened with the hit-or-miss (mainly the 
latter) plan of the elder day. While admitting 
its inadequacy, they will strenuously object 
to a better way. The district should adopt a 
definite day for the every-member canvass, and 
a strong effort be made to swing all the churches 
into line. Each church should be required to re- 
port the result, and a district bulletin issued. The 
number of participating churches may be gradu- 
ally increased, and the tendency to drop back into 
the old way lessened. The superintendent could 
147 



THE ITINEKANOY 

arrange an itinerary of the nonparticipating 
churches immediately after the close of the An- 
nual Conference, taking along a supply of en- 
velopes, and after inducing favorable action by 
the Quarterly Conference, presenting it to the 
public congregation and securing subscriptions to 
the budget and benevolences. Six weeks or two 
months devoted to such an effort will yield good 
results. Not all the churches may be brought into 
line, but there will be improvement. 

The district is a providential unit for compre- 
hensive and concentrated action. An Annual Con- 
ference is too large. One superintendent could 
not make his influence felt in such an area. He 
would not come into personal contact often 
enough, or long enough, to definitely influence 
either churches or preachers. While a district 
is large enough to give a movement momentum, at 
the same time it is small enough to keep the super- 
intendent in touch with every local situation. 

The superintendent should have a distinct an- 
nual program. He should not try to do every- 
thing in one year, but one thing in every year. 
The routine work must not be neglected. The first 
and fourth Quarterly Conferences are indispensa- 
ble. Fanciful fads and impossible programs 
should be eschewed, but each year should mark a 
distinct effort and record an actual achievement. 
An annual program will be good for the preachers, 

148 



THE DISTKICT SUPERINTENDENCY 

better for the people, and best for the superintend- 
ent ; it will increase fellowship among the preach- 
ers, help the laity to appreciate the opportuneness 
and strength of the itinerancy, keep the superin- 
tendent from falling into slovenly intellectual 
habits, and his administration from degenerating 
into routineism. 

Leader of His District 

The superintendent's capacity for leadership 
should have weighed heavily in his selection. 
Thinkers and doers, or, at least, men who will 
dare, are demanded in this office. 

It has sometimes been said that superintendents 
are conservative because they fear the preachers. 
One might think, remembering the influence of 
superintendents over the immediate future of 
most of their men, that the shoe would be on the 
other foot. Have preachers ever complained that 
superintendents were too energetic, had too large 
a vision of the opportunities of their office, or too 
sensitive a conscience concerning its responsibili- 
ties? Has not the opposite been true? It has 
been said that they were without vision or con- 
science, that they were mostly interested in quar- 
terage, that their work was light and their sense 
of obligation slight ; but it has been rarely charged 
that they attempted more than they could do, or 
did more than they should attempt. 

149 



THE ITINERANCY 

The Methodist preacher is amenable to leader- 
ship. He is not a wayside lounger nor a drowsy 
dreamer under a moody sky. He is a man of 
action, and has heard the command, "Son, go 
work in my vineyard to-day." He has laid aside 
the superfluities of life, and is like an athlete 
stripped for action, toe upon mark, eye upon 
course, muscles like tense whip-cords, waiting for 
the word of command. He looks to his leader, the 
district superintendent, for leadership. 



150 



CHAPTER VI 
THE CABINET 

Its Origin 

Administrative necessities created the Cabinet, 
but it is without name or legal sanction. This 
development was wholly unanticipated by the 
Christmas Conference of 1784, when twelve of its 
members were ordained to the office of elder and 
instructed to administer the sacraments in desig- 
nated areas. This was supposed to be only a 
happy solution of the sacramental controversy, 
which had disturbed the peace of the church. The 
denomination was rapidly outgrowing the admin- 
istrative possibilities of one man, however able, 
industrious, or well informed as to general condi- 
tions. New men, without training or experience, 
were constantly entering the work. They needed 
more frequent contact with some one in authority 
than was possible with one bishop, who slowly and 
laboriously, over primitive roads and bridle paths, 
included a continent in his itinerary. And the 
multiplying thousands of members, in far-scat- 
tered communities and isolated appointments, 
many without early religious training, and most 
of them with only infrequent religious privileges, 

151 



THE ITINEKANCY 

sadly needed the information and inspiration 
brought by an officer of the church, while the 
bishop, no longer able to reach every church or 
maintain intimate acquaintance with every 
preacher, was increasingly embarrassed in making 
the annual appointments. These difficulties would 
grow more serious with the lapse of time. Soon 
after the elders began their work of administering 
the sacraments it was recognized that the provi- 
dential solution had been found. The bishop at 
first simply availed himself of the valuable infor- 
mation they possessed. The informal conversation 
speedily assumed regularity, and was soon given 
the unofficial title which it bears to-day, "the 
Cabinet." 

Powers of the Cabinet 

There are none. As previously indicated, the 
General Conference of 1916 gave the Cabinet 
quasi-legal standing by providing that the bishops 
"shall appoint preachers to pastoral charges an- 
nually after consultation with the superintend- 
ents of the districts in which such charges may 
be located." While this makes consultation neces- 
sary, the manner and measure is not defined. It 
may be much or little; accidental, occasional, or 
at definite periods. And it is only "consultation" 
The bishop's right to fix the appointments is not 
abridged. 

152 



THE CABINET 

The Cabinet has only advisory and consultative 
powers. The bishop convenes the Cabinet at his 
pleasure ; consults it at his discretion ; determines 
the order of procedure ; seeks such information as 
he deems necessary or the superintendents desire 
to impart, and renders his decision. 

Influence op Superintendents in the Cabinet 

It is very great, much greater than one without 
experience would anticipate. The episcopacy can 
never regain that intimate contact with individual 
churches and preachers which it lost in the days 
of Francis Asbury. It would require five hundred 
bishops ! The church has twenty-five effective gen- 
eral superintendents, or bishops, and ten mission- 
ary superintendents, or bishops. 

It is evident that if these thirty-five men had 
unaided to make an annual distribution of twenty 
thousand preachers (bishops and preachers of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, South, not included) , 
with all the necessary delicate adjustments and 
preservation of sacred interests, much would have 
to be guessed at, and valuable data taken for 
granted. The bishops would be at the mercy of 
private advisers, without authority or responsi- 
bility. 

In a matter of such grave importance as fix- 
ing the appointments nothing should be either 

153 



THE ITINERANCY 

"guessed at" or "taken for granted." Information 
of the most reliable nature, up to date, and un- 
assailable in whole or part, is demanded. The 
bishop cannot travel extensively throughout an 
Annual Conference to see if his appointments 
have been wisely made. He must know before 
they are made. And he does. The list as finally 
read is neither a happy guess nor a leap in the 
dark. But if the bishop had been forced to depend 
upon his own lucubrations, the partisan represen- 
tations of preachers and churches, the stray hints 
from occasional tongues, or the choice bits of mis- 
information floating through a gossipy atmos- 
phere, he could never be sure that his most serious 
decisions were even measurably correct. 

The influence of superintendents in the Cabinet 
is based upon the information they possess. If 
the bishop has confidence in their powers of obser- 
vation and deduction, his task is greatly simpli- 
fied. But if suspicious of their ability, candor, or 
unselfishness, his problems are seriously compli- 
cated. He cannot easily go back of the informa- 
tion vouchsafed by the superintendents. He must 
follow the advice of the men officially empowered 
to collect and impart this information to him. 

Controlling the Personnel of the Cabinet 

Consecutive supervision enables each resident 
bishop to surround himself with capable and con- 

154 



THE CABINET 

genial superintendents. Custom should not pro- 
tect incompetents and obstructionists. The law 
permits a bishop to reconstruct his Cabinet at 
will ; and when convinced of its necessity he should 
not hesitate to do so. If an exchange of superin- 
tendents seems desirable, or if complications with- 
in the Cabinet or Conference point to an entirely 
new list of official advisers, the remedy is in his 
hands. If he has lost confidence in the judgment 
or industry of any one member, that man should 
be removed. If there is a noisy controversialist, 
who would relieve the other superintendents of 
their duties, he should be dismissed. When the 
bishop calls the districts he should know that men 
of probity, candor, and character; that men in- 
capable of dissimulation, who would rather lose 
a right arm than jeopardize the sacred interests 
committed to their charge; that the clearest 
minds, truest hearts, and keenest wits in the Con- 
ference, are answering for the men and churches. 
Toleration is a virtue when there is no remedy, 
but it is gross carelessness when a way of escape 
lies close to one's hand. The bishops, intelligent 
enough to know the truth, should be brave enough 
to obey the truth. 

Possible Peril in Centralized Authority 

The authority of the bishop in the Cabinet is 
absolute. Such power would be dangerous in the 

155 



THE ITINERANCY 

hands of one unfamiliar with the system. Class- 
room information will not do; it must be adze- 
hewn during long years of buffeting with the 
realities of the itinerancy. The bishop must main- 
tain that delicate intellectual poise and accuracy 
of judgment through the sessions of the Cabinet, 
and in his consultations with preachers and 
churches concerning the appointments, which 
certainly would be impossible did he not know 
instinctively the limitations and possibilities of 
the system. 

But something more than knowledge is neces- 
sary to make one man the safe depository of such 
extraordinary powers. Election to the episcopacy 
changes neither capacity nor characteristics. Or- 
dination to the office does not include the readjust- 
ment of one's faculties for particular duties. It 
will be conceded that fixing the appointments re- 
quires a particular type of mind, which even a 
bishop may not possess. A man may be an elo- 
quent preacher, a daring administrator, a popular 
lecturer, a multifarious author, gifted in many 
languages, versed in philosophy and science, and 
still be a blundering tyro in the curiously compli- 
cated task of making the appointments in an An- 
nual Conference. Should not some attention be 
given this phase of the subject when a candidate 
is suggested for the office of bishop in the Church 
of God? 

156 



THE CABINET 

The Bishop in the Cabinet 

The year's work is at an end. The bishop has 
finished his last itinerary, the superintendents 
have completed their schedules, the pastors have 
closed their various activities, and all are hasten- 
ing to the place of rendezvous. To-night the 
Cabinet will meet, and to-morrow the Annual 
Conference will open. The bishop is the predomi- 
nating personality in the assembling hosts. His 
office is one of great prestige, and he will not only 
preside over the business sessions of the Confer- 
ence, and be the official interpreter of the law of 
the church, but to him will be committed the sole 
responsibility of deciding where these men shall 
labor the following year. What should be his 
attitude toward the preachers in this emergency? 

1. Approachable. In spite of title and life posi- 
tion he is still a Methodist preacher. Once he was 
a lowly private in the ranks. Once he knew the 
dreads and doubts, the vague hopes and happy 
expectations of these men crowding in from moun- 
tain and valley, plain and river. Once he felt 
anxious to know just what the superintendent 
would say, and how the bishop would decide. Let 
him remember those days! He cannot have that 
patience which will enable him to deal justly with 
these men if he fails to recall that where they now 
are he once was. It is human to "forget the pit 

157 



THE ITINERANCY 

whence one was digged." The bishop should be 
brother to the humblest member of the Confer- 
ence ; not patronizing, but easy of approach, natu- 
ral in manner, and human in his sympathies. 

A bishop returned to hold the Conference from 
which he had been elevated to the episcopacy. His 
introductory remarks included the following: "I 
was once Brother X , but now it must be re- 
membered that I am a bishop of the church." 
Hands off, and stand off — no other interpretation 
was possible. The bishop's address received little 
applause — a few did their best in the chilly atmos- 
phere — but his old friends were sadly grieved. 
His presidency was not enjoyed, his early de- 
parture anticipated, and late return desired. 
Some years later another bishop, elected from the 
same Conference, returned as its presiding officer. 
His introductory remarks closed as follows: "I 
have always felt that there was no place like home, 
and this morning I am more deeply sensible of 
this truth than ever before. Here are the men 
with whom I spent my youth, the companions of 
my early struggles, sharers in the highest joys and 
deepest sorrows of my life. My brothers of the 
years gone and to come, this is one of the happiest 
hours of my life. To live for one whole week in 
the bosom of this delightful fellowship will be 
a foretaste of heaven." These simple words from 
the great heart that had not forgotten the common 

158 



THE CABINET 

toils and fears of the past found instant response 
in every soul, and insured for him the enthusiastic 
confidence of the entire Conference. 

It is granted that the episcopacy has exhibited 
little official hauteur. But there need be none. 
The men in the ranks can only be content when 
their interests are in the hands of a brother. They 
will not be ruled by a repellent ecclesiastic, but 
they will go anywhere or attempt anything for a 
brother-bishop. 

2. Accessible. There is nothing like "talking it 
over with headquarters." The bishop should not 
allow his official advisers, social engagements, or 
routine duties to absorb all his time. A very 
generous portion should be set aside for consulta- 
tion with the members of the Conference and 
representatives of the churches who may desire to 
see him. Some preachers may not be satisfied 
with the representation they expect from the 
superintendent — a nameless dread that he may 
not be entirely impartial. Others may think them- 
selves victims of unjust classification. They have 
struck a dead level and their ministry is beginning 
to sag. Such men have a right to the time and 
attention of the bishop. Still others may feel that 
the bishop has only a partial view of some recent 
administrative act, particularly trying experience, 
or reason for failure to accomplish a designated 
task. He should have the right to present his side. 
159 



THE ITINERANCY 

The bishop can brighten many a leaden sky, lift 
many a burden from weary shoulders, and com- 
fort many an aching heart with a quiet soul-to- 
soul talk. An explanation by the bishop will sound 
differently, and will have a different effect from 
that even of the district superintendent. Not 
that subordinate authorities are untrustworthy, 
but one likes to know that one's case is understood 
at the top ; and that one's fate is decided by the 
supreme judicatory after a full and fair under- 
standing of all the facts. 

Accessibility should be cultivated by the bishop 
because of the light shed upon his own problems. 
He knows little of the actual conditions upon 
which important decisions will have to be based. 
He may know what everybody knows — the obvious 
things — but he may not know what the superin- 
tendent knows, or what all know who know all 
the facts. In private conversations with the 
parties involved, lay and clerical, he will not only 
have an opportunity to verify the information 
otherwise acquired, but will be able to pursue inde- 
pendent lines of investigation, and will sense those 
interior truths which will enable him to make the 
proper decisions. For his own satisfaction, criti- 
cal cases, involving the peace of churches and use- 
fulness of preachers, should not be decided until 
he has exhausted every means for securing infor- 
mation, accidental, official, offered, and self-sought. 

160 



THE CABINET 

Critical decisions generally hinge upon the esti- 
mate of men. This is the primary cause for 
anxiety, contention, and discontent in an Annual 
Conference. 

In a nonitinerant system the congregation de- 
cides the matter, and that is an end to it. The dis- 
satisfied have no redress. The church must abide 
its decision, at least for a season, while the minis- 
ters not called must suffer in silence. 

But in an itinerancy decision rests with the 
bishop, based upon his estimate of the preachers, 
and this estimate is the result of what he knows 
and has been told. If he knows nothing, he is at 
the mercy of what he has been told — and so is the 
man about whom he has been told. 

The bishop should be quick and accurate in his 
judgment of human nature. His interviews with 
men should be illuminating. He should look for 
those traces of ill temper, inaccuracy of statement, 
errancy of judgment, temperamental petulance, 
carelessness in dress or speech about which he 
may have heard. 

3. Inquiring. The bishop should insist upon 
knowing the facts, all of them. There is a certain 
comity among district superintendents which will 
prevent them, except in emergencies, from inter- 
fering with each other's plans. The bishop cannot 
expect a weak or inaccurate superintendent to be 
checked by his colleagues. They do not have the 

161 



THE ITINEKANCY 

authority. It would create discord and provoke 
retaliation. Many a mistake has been made, and 
injustice even has been perpetrated, because the 
other superintendents did not like to interfere. 
The moment a promotion or demotion is sug- 
gested the bishop should lay down his pencil and 
take up his probe. The continuation of an appar- 
ently superior man in an inferior position should 
provoke inquiry. The reasons for proposed 
changes should be patiently sought. It would 
help if the bishop would ask the judgment of the 
other superintendents. But he must be impartial. 
The judgment of one cannot be submitted to all 
unless it is done with all. 

Every appointment has four sides : the church's 
side, the preacher's side, the bishop's side, 
and the superintendent's side. If possible, the 
bishop should see all sides before rendering a 
decision. ^Responsibility for the appointment be- 
longs to him. Pleading extenuation through ignor- 
ance indicts his intelligence. He is given time 
and opportunity to learn the facts, all of them; 
and if he knows only a part, and is satisfied to 
proceed largely upon what he does not know, his 
administration will be faulty. 

4. Deliberative. The bishop need not be a vic- 
tim of the "haste that makes waste." He will 
be acquainted with the difficult cases prior to the 
Annual Conference. By correspondence, personal 

162 



THE CABINET 

visitation, and by interviews with preachers and 
laymen, he may so thoroughly acquaint himself 
with the facts that his decision will stand the 
severest criticism. 

The bishop's hands should not be tied with prior 
promises. He should enter the Cabinet a free 
man. Otherwise its deliberations will be a farce. 
The Cabinet should be a forum for discussion, in- 
vestigation, and decision, rather than the place 
where previous promises are consummated. The 
bishop may have strong opinions, even ardent 
desires, and he may have indicated his willingness 
to do certain things "if the way opened," but the 
whole matter should rest there. His "strong 
opinions" may be erroneous, his "ardent desires" 
impracticable, and his promises may involve him 
in difficulties. To carry them out may mean in- 
justice to others ; to violate them will break faith 
with those who have relied upon his word. Instead 
of assuming the right of supreme decision — which 
right he undoubtedly has — it would be better 
to say, "I will be pleased to lay this view of 
the case before the Cabinet, and if it seems desir- 
able and possible, I will be glad to advocate its 
acceptance." 

Indeed, the law declares that the bishop "shall 
appoint the preachers to pastoral charges an- 
nually after consultation with the superintend- 
ents of districts in which such charges may be 

163 



THE ITINERANCY 

located." Private promises prior to an Annual 
Conference, unless the superintendent is also con- 
sulted, are of doubtful legality. The law evidently 
means "all pastoral charges" and "all preachers" 
appointed before, during, or after the session of an 
Annual Conference; it evidently means any ap- 
pointment, made at any time, for any cause, in 
any way — the superintendent of that district 
must 6e consulted. That is all, and quite enough. 
The bishop may not agree with the superintend- 
ent. That is a privilege which he should doubtless 
exercise at times. But the intent of the law will 
have been achieved, namely, consultation, deliber- 
ation. 

5. Dependable. The bishop's opinion should be 
held in solution as long as possible. Asking much 
and answering little should be his policy. Even 
when his duty is clear there should be no prema- 
ture announcement. His given word should never 
be broken. Nor should his announced decision be 
changed without a full and frank statement to all 
the parties involved. If later and fuller informa- 
tion compels a redecision, he must be accorded 
that privilege, but only after the exact status has 
been duly explained to those involved. The bish- 
op's judgment may be questioned — a common lot 
— but the honor of the church demands the in- 
tegrity of his word. 

6. Independent. The bishop must form no 

164 



THE CABINET 

alliances with prominent preachers or place him- 
self under obligation to influential laymen, so that 
his liberty of action in the Cabinet will be circum- 
scribed. The bishop's official duties will bring 
him into frequent contact with these men, and 
friendly relations are both desirable and inevita- 
ble. But no responsibilities should ~be assumed 
that extend into the Cabinet. There the bishop 
should meet all upon terms of equality, and be 
free to judge every case upon its merits, bound by 
neither ties, promises, nor obligations to heed one 
and deny the other. 

The Superintendent in the Cabinet 

The new superintendent finds himself confronted 
with novel and fearsome responsibilities. Here- 
tofore he has awaited the decisions of this body 
with anxiety, occasionally mixed with dread. He 
has seen white-faced men go in and out of the 
room in which the sessions of the Cabinet' were 
held; he has heard the ebb and flow of rumors, 
and he has had a vague idea of the importance 
of the work and the way it was done ; but now he 
suddenly finds himself faced with its problems 
and awed with its responsibilities. His dismay is 
increased by finding the extent to which the bishop 
relies upon his judgment. How can he who has 
always been sent, undertake the task of sending? 

165 



THE ITINEKANOY 

He finds himself, for the first time in his life, in the 
predicament of having to decide between his 
brethren. He must have definite opinions of their 
gifts, graces, and usefulness. Their talents must 
be weighed, their usefulness critically examined. 
How can he do this with the friends who have 
walked by his side down the years ? But he must ! 
The bishop waits his decision, based upon judg- 
ment and not preference. Anxious days and sleep- 
less nights are before him. But let us follow him 
into the Cabinet. 

1. The superintendent will find himself the 
official spokesman for his district. Many times 
has he traveled its length and breadth during the 
year. He has gotten acquainted with preachers 
and parsonages, churches and officials. He has 
mingled with its social, industrial, and religious 
life, and will "speak as one having authority." He 
should have a definite opinion of the usefulness of 
every preacher, the opportunities for development 
in every church. He is the district's official cus- 
todian. The bishop will not appoint a single 
preacher in this territory without his knowledge, 
nor, in all probability, without his consent. If the 
other superintendents should make suggestions 
concerning his district, the bishop will immedi- 
ately refer them to him. In order to accommodate 
the general plan it may be necessary finally to 
acquiesce in several appointments that do not 

166 



THE CABINET 

fully meet his approval, but only after prolonged 
discussion in which he has had an opportunity to 
participate. 

The bishop will not only recognize his authority 
but will prevent its usurpation by the other mem- 
bers of the Cabinet. But the superintendent 
must "speak up" for his district. Shifting inde- 
cision will be fatal. While he hesitates the best 
preachers will be located, and he will be loaded 
with discards. No undue advantage may be taken, 
but he cannot expect men of decision to wait in- 
definitely while he twirls his thumbs, or studies 
the pattern in the carpet. 

2. He should go into the Cabinet with a 
thoroughly digested plan for his district. The 
possibilities and probabilities should be carefully 
weighed in connection with every church and pas- 
tor. He should be able to answer the bishop 
promptly concerning the necessary or desirable 
changes. 

The superintendent's plan should be largely con- 
fined to his own district. Speculation as to what 
he can do on the other districts will be alluring 
but futile. His colleagues must not be expected 
to cash his checks. They in their turn will be 
found with problems which he should not be asked 
to solve. It is useless to expect what cannot be 
given. As the discussion goes on, possibilities in 
other districts may develop, but pre-Conference 

167 



THE ITINERANCY 

plans should be built upon the lines of one's own 
territory. 

If the superintendent has been able to negotiate 
a definite exchange with a colleague, that is an- 
other matter. But the hope that he will do so 
should not induce unwarranted expectations. 

3. Previous promises should not impede his 
freedom of action. Just as the bishop should come 
to the Conference a free man, so the superintend- 
ent should enter the Cabinet with hands untied. 
If he is bound up in advance to a number of diffi- 
cult, perhaps impossible decisions, not only will 
his freedom of action in exchange be abridged but 
his colleagues will question his judgment. 

The superintendent must establish a reputation 
for trustworthiness. Any confidence reposed in 
him must be observed to the letter. If the whole 
matter of selecting a pastor is left with him, as 
it generally will be, his understanding with a 
particular Quarterly Conference should be as 
sacred as if written upon parchment in letters of 
gold, and signed before a court of archangels. It 
ought not to be necessary to send a committee to 
the Annual Conference to see that he keeps his 
word. But let him do in the Cabinet exactly as he 
has said he would do in the Quarterly Conference. 
Woe unto him and his successors if he does other- 
wise ! He has added another church to the ranks 
of those who have a waning confidence in ecclesi- 

168 



THE CABINET 

astical officials, and who will deem it necessary 
hereafter to take measures for self-protection. It 
will be a very easy matter, in the hurry and press 
of Cabinet work, when decisions must be made 
quickly, and the whole situation bristles with diffi- 
culties, to permit what he would not choose. But 
he must not. A wrong decision quickly made, or 
made under pressure, is no more right than a 
wrong decision deliberately made. It may have 
greater justification, but cannot give greater satis- 
faction. 

The preachers must feel, all of them, that their 
interests are safe in the hands of their superin- 
tendent. It is a question of capacity rather than 
integrity. Preachers dread a weak or vacillating 
superintendent. This man is the custodian of 
their dearest interests. But suppose he is inferior 
in strategy or unreliable in conclusions? There 
will be anxiety in the heart of every preacher. He 
must avoid harshness with some preachers and 
leniency with others. There must be no freak, 
emotional, or on-the-spur-of-the-moment appoint- 
ments. His administration must show poise, dis- 
crimination, and deliberation. Then the hearts of 
his preachers will safely trust in him. 

The superintendent will soon learn that certain 
appointments can be clearly forecasted. There is 
no good reason why he should not take the preach- 
ers into his confidence, stating the situation as it 

169 



THE ITINEKANCY 

is and the probable outcome. But the contingen- 
cies and difficulties should always be emphasized, 
for they are ever present, and have an unfortunate 
habit of intruding when least expected or desired. 
The fewer conversations of this character the bet- 
ter. A twofold danger is always present: the 
superintendent may be oversanguine and the 
hearer overoptimistic. One is led to overemphasis 
and the other to overexpectation. The first way 
leads to disappointment, and the second to 
charges of broken faith. Both are perilous and 
should be avoided. But his definite word given 
to any pastor should be final, and its reiteration 
unnecessary. The heavens may fall — they some- 
times do — and he will be absolved. Minus this 
rare contingency, his word should be like the laws 
of a certain ancient state. A speculator in mar- 
gins is a pathetic failure in the Cabinet. Itiner- 
ants cannot be shaken in a dice box and thrown 
on the table. Nor are they pawns on a chess 
board to be sacrificed at will. The eye of the 
superintendent must be single, the hand steady, 
the purpose constant, and the conscience clear. 

The superintendent should avoid vagueness as 
a policy. There is no reason why either churches 
or preachers should be long held by tenterhooks 
of anxiety. Vagueness and evasiveness breed sus- 
picion, and suspicion undermines the foundation 
of that mutual confidence on which the itinerancy 

170 



THE CABINET 

rests. The great work of appointment-making 
should not be surrounded with an air of mystery. 
The problem is simple. Here are some churches, 
and there are some preachers. The churches dif- 
fer in strength, the preachers in capacity. The 
Cabinet achieves the fittest fit. Difficult? Yes, but 
not mysterious. Adjustments proceed upon sane, 
logical grounds, and the outcome will be found in 
essential harmony with the facts. 

The superintendent of a large district with 
many important churches must be careful lest he 
encourage two or three men to expect the same 
pastorate. Unless there is definite probability of 
appointment to that particular church, he should 
never broach the matter. It will be less serious 
to have it suggested by one who may desire the 
appointment. Then he may talk freely, but should 
not arouse unwarranted expectations. But if he 
should deliberately, without prompting, ask two 
or three preachers how they would like a certain 
pastorate, always mentioning the same church, 
and then allow the Annual Conference to pass 
without further reference to the subject, it will be 
difficult to acquit him of ulterior motives. 

4. The superintendent should have a plan which 
will enable him, if possible, to maintain the status 
quo with respect to every preacher. Men should 
not be allowed to slip without cause. If there are 
incorrigibles, who will neither heed present advice 

171 



THE ITINEKANOY 

nor be taught by the sad mistakes of the past, they 
should be permitted to find their proper level. 
The church is not an infirmary for ministerial 
incompetents or intractables. There is work to 
do: foundations to dig, loads to carry, and walls 
to build; there are souls to save, cities to purify, 
and civilizations to reconstruct. These are tasks 
that call for men. The fewer camp followers the 
better. The superintendent who tolerates such 
men should be cashiered and dismissed. 

But we repeat: men should not be allowed to 
slip without cause. One Conference will find a 
superintendent with many openings, and promo- 
tions will be easy, while another Conference will 
find all avenues of advancement closed, and he 
will have to stand in the breach to prevent serious 
demotions. In this emergency he should not hesi- 
tate to take the Cabinet into his confidence. But 
he cannot expect demotions on other districts, or 
the serious disarrangement of vital plans to ac- 
commodate him. However, the entire Cabinet will 
frequently cooperate in a series of readjustments 
to relieve a tense situation, or prevent an impend- 
ing tragedy. This is done more frequently than 
might be expected. But it cannot be counted upon 
with certainty in a given case. Nor is it always 
successful when sincerely attempted. The super- 
intendent's tentative plan, to be safe, had better 
be confined to his own district. There he under- 

172 



THE CABINET 

stands the situation, and his authority is recog- 
nized. Beyond there is an unknown land with 
lurking dangers and hidden pitfalls of which he 
may not know. 

The superintendent is justly held responsible 
for the appointment given to any one of his men 
transferred to another district. The superintend- 
ent should not only know where he is going, but 
his vigilance should not be relaxed until he has 
gone. The new superintendent may not have a 
very keen sense of responsibility for the compara- 
tive stranger, and in the final adjustment may 
shift him to an inferior position. The original 
agreement should be exacted or the man returned. 

5. Seasonable promotions should be planned. 
Promotions, like "offenses, must come, but woe 
unto him by whom" the promotion "cometh" ! It 
must be remembered that there is little selection 
in promotion. Promotions are logical adjust- 
ments, not the arbitrary bestowal of favors. A 
promotion is nothing more than the recognition 
of merit, a fact difficult of appreciation by one 
without "merit." No adequate explanation can 
be made to the unpromoted. But this is the super- 
intendent's burden. 

Promising young men should not be started too 
high. Their future ministry will be enhanced by 
a reasonable apprenticeship in obscurity. They 
may need the country even more than the country 

173 



THE ITINERANCY 

needs them. Before they start out to modernize 
the church and reconstruct society they should 
have an opportunity to try out some of their 
theories on the folk who live down close to nature. 
Knowledge may be gotten in the classroom, but 
wisdom is begotten of experience. Genius often 
flowers into greatness as one works upward 
through the various ranks of service. None can 
know the church so well, or believe her doctrines 
so thoroughly, or appreciate her polity so fully 
as those who have rendered her service in the 
various types of communities into which her ac- 
tivities extend. 

Neither should young men, however severe their 
necessities, be encouraged to bargain for place, or 
speculate upon the likelihood of quick promotion. 
Their necessities ought to be limited, and their 
luxuries need be few. Their greatest problem is 
giving rather than getting. It is better to want 
little and give much, than to demand much and 
have little to give ! And it is a sad fact that those 
who give the least often expect the most. Less 
speculation and more cultivation would be a good 
rule for the young preacher. 

It was a beautiful summer evening. The super- 
intendent had gone home with the preacher for 
supper. Some chairs were taken out under the 
trees, away from the house and children, where 
the preacher "opened his heart," as he phrased it. 

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THE CABINET 

The previous year on another charge had not 
been very satisfactory. The young preacher had 
been without training or experience. Many of 
the duties and privileges of the ministry had been 
poorly understood. A change became necessary. 
He had been well received at the new charge and 
was in high favor with the people. 

"You can see," said the preacher, "how well 
everything is getting along here. I want to ask 
about the future. What are my prospects for 
promotion ?" 

If a hand had been suddenly thrust from be- 
hind the neighboring maple and cuffed the super- 
intendent, his surprise could not have been greater. 

"Why, my brother," he finally managed to stam- 
mer, "no Methodist preacher ever asks his super- 
intendent that question. At least, I have never 
heard it." 

"Well, you see I have a family to support, and 
feel that I must know," was the reply. 

"But how can I answer that question ?" said the 
superintendent. "Your income in the ministry 
will depend entirely upon your earning capacity, 
and as to that I do not know, and will not venture 
a guess." 

"Yes," persisted the preacher, "but you can see 
how well things are going here, and why should 
you not be willing to form an opinion on that 
basis?" 

175 



THE ITINERANCY 

"My brother," replied the superintendent, 
quietly, "it is not the first Quarterly Conference 
of the first year, but the fourth Quarterly Confer- 
ence of the fifth year that tells the story. If these 
people are just as anxious to have you back at 
the close of the third, fourth, or fifth year as 
they are to keep you just now, your future is 
assured." 

It is a bad omen for a young man to sit down 
at the beginning of his ministry and demand a 
forecasting of his future prospects. He needs less 
horoscope and more horse sense, less day-dreaming 
and more ditch-digging. 

"What are my prospects for promotion!" 
Shades of Wesley and the long line of heroes who, 
like ancient worthies, "counted not their lives 
dear unto themselves," but toiled on in obscurity 
and poverty, traveling long circuits in bleak 
weather, wearing themselves out gladly and all 
too quickly in service prompted by love ! 

Nevertheless, superintendents should watch 
their young men closely for signs of unusual 
promise. They should be encouraged to deserve 
promotion, not expect it. Their hopes should not 
be blasted and their spirits crushed or embittered 
by unfortunate appointments. They are the hope 
of the church — a valuable asset which should not 
be wasted by carelessness, stunted by neglect, or 
lost through misjudgment. And if they are des- 

176 



THE CABINET 

tined to reach the higher places, they should ex- 
pect to pass through the intermediate grades. 
Their ultimate ministry will be the richer and 
stronger. 

There will also be middle-aged men who may 
have been overlooked by previous administrations, 
or who may have slowly reached the maturity of 
their powers. Their increasing efficiency demands 
recognition. Their long apprenticeship and 
proven efficiency in difficult fields is worthy of 
just reward. Some will have reached their maxi- 
mum growth. They are either incapable of further 
growth or are neglecting the only means by which 
it may be achieved — patient and thorough self- 
culture. Some have gone as far as they wish, 
others as far as they can, still others as far as they 
have had opportunity. The first should be left 
where they are; additional opportunities would 
be wasted on the second, while the third is deserv- 
ing of sympathetic treatment. It is the joy of the 
superintendent to discover and recognize their 
worth. 

6. The superintendent must utilize the vacan- 
cies on his district to advance worthy men. That 
he will have such a list is inevitable. Every dis- 
trict has "a waiting list." Betimes others have 
"stepped in" while they have continued to wait. 
Waiting overtime for one's turn grows wearisome. 
The itinerancy, as in no other system of minis- 

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THE ITINEKANCY 

terial supply, is built to give every man his just 
deserts, but it depends upon the superintendency 
to see that it is done. 

If the superintendent does not plan, swiftly and 
surely, to fill every attractive vacancy on his dis- 
trict, he may be sure that some other astute super- 
intendent will quietly proceed to appropriate it. 
He need not go into the Cabinet and beg the privi- 
lege of providing for his own. Should it be neces- 
sary for him to take a preacher from another dis- 
trict to fill a vacancy, it should be his right to 
"fill in behind" the preacher he takes. This will 
open a line of promotions for his men. 

If there is a simple exchange between two dis- 
tricts, no promotion is possible beyond the men 
involved. When a preacher comes from a small 
church to a larger one on another district, no 
other opportunities for advancement are open on 
either district. But when there is an actual 
vacancy occasioned by death, retirement, or trans- 
fer, the superintendent should plan, not only to 
advance his own men, but as many of them as 
possible. If he takes a man from a small field for 
a larger one, he has closed the possibility of other 
promotions. Whenever possible he should advance 
a man from an intermediate position, again mak- 
ing it possible to promote from two to five worthy 
preachers. 

It does not always follow that because one of 
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his men has received a promotion in another 
district he should accept a transfer for the 
vacancy. Maybe the proper man cannot be 
offered, or the other superintendent can adjust 
his work without this church, or the crowded 
condition of his own district may demand the 
retention of the opening. He should not be com- 
pelled to take an inferior man simply because one 
of his superior men has been desired elsewhere. 
Should he do that, his district will have suffered 
a double loss : an asset will have been exchanged 
for a liability. 

7. The last sentence in the previous paragraph 
hints at a grave danger of which the new superin- 
tendent should beware: the case with which he 
may exchange superior for inferior men. Amiable 
superintendents have done this to the lasting in- 
jury of their work. 

A poor judge of men is a tragedy in the superin- 
tendency. The man who has been saying "Yes" 
to everybody and everything, and who has culti- 
vated the inability to differentiate between men, 
should be continued in the pastorate, where stern 
decisions affecting the welfare of churches, preach- 
ers, and families need not be made. His accommo- 
dating disposition will soon be discovered by his 
colleagues. They all have flotsam which they 
would like to anchor in some other harbor. 

A certain proportion of his men have always 
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THE ITINERANCY 

done poorly, and there is little probability that 
they will ever do better. He will find it useless 
either to worry them with exhortations or exas- 
perate them with denunciations. He should be 
as helpful as possible, appreciating the little he 
can commend, and quietly urging greater en- 
deavor in certain directions, but their reconstruc- 
tion along broader and better lines is an impossi- 
bility. No influx of such men from other districts 
should be allowed. 

The superintendent must be careful that the 
personnel of his district, even in the higher range 
of appointments, does not gradually deteriorate. 
He must beware of talented but peculiar men, 
with mental twists and doctrinal quirks, denomi- 
national grievances and violent prejudices, whose 
natural element is strife, and who never seem to 
be so happy as when making others unhappy. To 
have one or two such men on a district is bad 
enough, but to have them gradually assembled on 
one district, lowering its efficiency for years to 
come, is a calamity. 

The superintendent's success will be measured 
by the capacity of his preachers. He cannot be 
the pastor of from thirty-five to one hundred 
churches ; he cannot direct the countless activities 
and perform the multitudinous services demanded 
throughout the district ; he cannot be everywhere, 
all the time, inspiring the preachers and counsel- 

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ing the churches. These duties, delicate in nature 
and vast in significance, must be turned over to 
his preachers. And the results can always be 
measured in advance. Efficiency never begets 
failure, and incompetency is never the mother of 
success. 
The superintendent has a threefold task : 

1. How to utilize, to the best possible advan- 
tage, the ministerial talent found in his dis- 
trict. 

2. How to prevent, except "in the natural 
course of human events," the increase of unaccept- 
able or incompetent preachers. 

3. How to develop his backward preachers, and 
increase the number of useful and accomplished 
men. 

These results can be achieved without exploit- 
ing one's colleagues, or doing violence to the 
rights of any preacher, and such a superintendent 
may leave his district unreduced in strength and 
unimpaired in personnel. 

Districts Equal in Strength 

There should be no division into city and rural 
districts, large and small or weak and strong dis- 
tricts. One or two districts should not dominate 
an Annual Conference — unless the geographical 
situation is an absolute bar to equitable readjust- 
ment. When several of the districts grow top- 

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THE ITINERANCY 

heavy, the lines should be changed, and the same 
action should be taken in the case of even one dis- 
trict developing that condition. As a general prin- 
ciple of administration, the bishops should pre- 
serve parity of strength in the districts. If this is 
not done, the power of the Cabinet will largely be 
in the hands of one or two men. The superintend- 
ents on the smaller districts will be at a sad dis- 
advantage. Their young men cannot be advanced, 
and exchanges will be found difficult because 
preachers from the larger districts, knowing well 
the limitations of the smaller ones, will avoid 
them. The superintendent of a small district will 
soon understand the aptness of that scripture, 
"and from him that hath not shall be taken away 
even that which he hath." He will be a humble 
suppliant at the door of his more fortunate breth- 
ren. He may pick up a few crumbs occasionally, 
but they will be gratuities. The superintendents 
should, so far as possible, be kept on an equal 
footing, and one with inferior opportunities 
must be held to inferior responsibility. 

Transfers and Calls 

Time introduces changes. They generally be- 
gin as slight deviations from the normal, scarcely 
visible, creating little comment or opposition. But 
a breached wall is never self-healing, and the 

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breach may quickly grow to alarming size. Time 
has brought several modifications to the itiner- 
ancy — modifications by custom rather than law. 
These changes have been decried as dangerous, 
and, if persisted in, destructive. Remonstrances 
and resolutions have been frequent and formid- 
able, and it might have been supposed that the 
itinerancy was in imminent peril of its life. That 
there has been dissatisfaction and some confusion 
is granted, but that the danger has been exag- 
gerated is asserted. Never has the itinerancy been 
more firmly rooted in the faith and affection of 
the church than at the present time. All the great 
controversies that raged about it have been set- 
tled, and in its favor. Its vast superiority over 
every other system of ministerial supply has been 
clearly demonstrated. Its past is written large 
in the religious history of the world, its present 
achievements are not questioned, and its future 
glory is assured. 

Modifications in practice are generally neces- 
sary in all great undertakings. A theory is rarely 
capable of exact and continuous application. The 
theory may have suited the situation perfectly in 
the beginning, but the "beginning" does not last, 
and the situation is in constant flux. He who 
bemoans every slightest departure as profanation 
of the sacred original should go back to the apron 
of fig leaves. While principles never change, the 

183 



THE ITINERANCY 

modes of their application must change with the 
moods and needs of the race. 

The rigid application of the original formula 
may have produced, in the process of time, neces- 
sity for modification in practice. This is true 
of the itinerancy. Rigid application of one-man 
power was necessary in the beginning, and pro- 
duced splendid results. But the very immensity 
of these results produced modifications in prac- 
tice. If the church had remained a little hand- 
ful, distributed in a few local communities, with 
its modest chapels in alleys and back streets, 
changes would not have been necessary. But with 
its cathedral spires piercing the clouds in a thou- 
sand cities; with its network of churches and 
preachers threading the highways and byways of 
a planet's life, modifications in practice, if not in 
law, were inevitable. That these modifications 
have been so few in number and mild in form, is 
occasion for endless wonder. 

The intelligent reader is acquainted with the 
origin and evolution of the itinerancy. That abso- 
lute power in stationing the preachers which 
Wesley had in England, Francis Asbury also exer- 
cised in America, first by appointment from 
Wesley and later by election of the Christmas 
Conference. 

This absolute power in law the bishops have 
always retained. Its serious abridgment, long 
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threatened but never achieved, has finally settled 
into universal acquiescence. The law proceeds 
upon the assumption that the appointments are 
made as follows: after acquiring available infor- 
mation from superintendents, preachers, and 
churches, and after discussing the matter at 
length with his official advisers, the superintend- 
ents of districts, the bishop personally decides 
where each preacher shall be stationed the suc- 
ceeding year. While law and fact are usually in 
harmony, time has developed exceptions worthy 
of notice. 

There is the question of "transfers." When it 
became necessary, because of the widening ac- 
tivities of the church, to divide the ministry into 
several Annual Conferences, new complications 
arose. Legislation for the whole body became 
difficult, eventuating in the General Conference. 
The erection of Conference boundaries confined 
preachers to certain areas. To pass from Confer- 
ence to Conference it became necessary to be 
"transferred." But this contingency did not 
assume significance until many years later. 

It is the theory of the system that the appoint- 
ments in any given Conference shall be filled by 
the members of that Conference. This is reason- 
able and necessary. The local ministry has de- 
veloped its local constituency, and is justly 
entitled to the honors and emoluments attached 

185 



THE ITINERANCY 

thereto. It cannot be rashly dispossessed without 
friction. The authorities in an Annual Confer- 
ence must always see that there are enough 
preachers for the appointments — just enough, 
neither less nor more. If men were hastily jumbled 
about between the Conferences, this equilibrium 
would be disturbed. Conference boundaries need 
not be insurmountable barriers, but they must be 
respected or the church will be thrown into con- 
fusion. 

When the churches were all small, and there 
were no strategic appointments in great cities, 
and no hazardous building or administrative prob- 
lems demanding separate treatment, the local 
ministry was adequate to all demands. But with 
the advent of great churches, with large and able 
constituencies, subjected to serious competition, 
an entirely new situation was created. 

It was found that these churches could not 
always be supplied by the membership of the local 
Conference. The legal pastorate was brief, and 
no exceptions were permitted. The possibilities 
of an Annual Conference for a certain type of 
appointments were quickly exhausted. Often 
there was no church of equal strength to accom- 
modate the retiring pastor. Two tendencies grew 
out of the situation: ministers of conspicuous 
gifts, in neighboring or distant Conferences, were 
"invited" to these pulpits. These invitations were 
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always subjected, as they are now, to revision and 
decision by the bishops presiding over the Confer- 
ences concerned. The second tendency was one of 
transfer between the preachers who had gotten 
into this special class. 

Necessity created this situation and, as in 
other respects, the itinerancy shaped itself to the 
emergency. But the transfer of a prominent 
preacher into a Conference for a temporary pas- 
torate occasionally levies a heavy tax upon the 
system. When the time comes to transfer a 
"transfer," no transfer church may be open, or, if 
open, it may have other plans. The church which 
transferred the "transfer" into the Conference 
may insist upon another "transfer," quietly leav- 
ing the Conference to care for its ejected pastor. 
This works a double injustice to the local Confer- 
ence: not only is this pulpit permanently closed 
to its members, but an extra preacher for whom 
no church exists is thrust upon the Conference. 
He cannot be given an inferior position, and grave 
injustice may be inflicted upon several worthy 
men who will either be kept back or crowded down 
to provide for the "left over." While exchanging 
preachers between Conferences can never be 
abandoned — the necessity which created it grow- 
ing more pronounced — certain principles should 
be observed : 

1. The number of transfer churches should be 
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THE ITINERANCY 

kept at the minimum. Recognizing the principle 
but abridging the practice should be the rule. 
Whim and caprice should not be taken for neces- 
sity. Custom is contagious. The little ape the 
big. If one church demands special treatment, 
and is accorded extra-legal consideration, why not 
its neighbor? 

2. The principle of exchange should be ob- 
served. If one comes, one should go. This may 
not always be practicable, but it should be the 
custom, and variations should be the exception. 
The bishops should be careful to emphasize this 
principle and Annual Conferences should urge its 
observance. 

3. Transfer churches should recognize their re- 
sponsibility in the premises. Insistence upon the 
right of choice should mean responsibility for a 
choice. No "dumping" process should be permit- 
ted while another committee fares blithely forth 
with a "call" in hand. If a little rigor were 
applied here, the evil would largely abate. Being 
compelled to stand by one's decision makes one 
considerate. 

4. A just consideration of local possibilities 
should be insisted upon. Going farther often 
means faring worse. Local possibilities are over- 
looked or unfairly discounted. Distance lends 
enchantment — especially in the ministry. A 
church will often insist upon a distant preacher 

188 



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about whom it has only fragmentary information, 
imagination fabricating the lacking details. 

5. The bishops and district superintendents 
should interest themselves in the solution of this 
problem. Immediate and united action upon the 
occasion of a vacancy would often produce satis- 
factory results. Intervention will be too late after 
an unfortunate decision has been made. Spoken 
at the right time, the bishop's word of caution 
or exhortation will have great weight. The super- 
intendents should keep in close touch with such 
cases. 

Local "Calls" and "Invitations" 

The second modification in practice is that of 
local churches extending "calls" to ministers 
within the bounds of the same Conference. This 
evil, if such it may be considered, has been of slow 
growth and has not assumed dangerous propor- 
tions, though it has "vexed the church" not a 
little. Of course, if universally adopted, or even 
generally practiced, it would render the itiner- 
ancy inoperative. The itinerancy demands free- 
dom of action, freedom to stretch itself, swing its 
arms, and turn upon its heel; freedom to sift, 
shift, and adjust until a just disposition has been 
reached ; a disposition based upon justice to all — 
churches and preachers — without fear of the 
strong or indifference toward the weak. But if 
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THE ITINERANCY 

the Cabinet should find that one half or two 
thirds of the churches of an Annual Conference 
had entered into definite agreements with a like 
number of preachers, violently thrusting out 
worthy men of high character and long service, 
without consideration of where they were to go 
or how they were to be provided for, the itiner- 
ancy would soon be found nowhere except in his- 
tory. 

Fulmination would be futile. Long study has 
been given to this question: whether, if the ap- 
pointing power were never harassed with "calls" 
and "invitations," but were permitted each year 
to station the preachers without suggestion or 
insistence from any source or sources except those 
recognized by the Discipline, a higher standard 
of satisfaction and efficiency would be attained? 

It would be a pleasure to answer affirmatively. 
A regrettable but very emphatic negative affords 
no pleasure, but is necessary. Watching the sys- 
tem work from the outside, and seeing it work 
from the inside, makes any other conclusion im- 
possible. The itinerancy is run by preachers, but 
it is run for the church and preachers, not for 
preachers and the church! Who will say that if 
the system were left entirely in the hands of 
preachers, without suggestion or importunity 
from without, the tendency to consider the preach- 
ers first could be successfully resisted? 

190 



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The preachers are worthy of profound consider- 
ation. These men, who have consecrated their 
lives to the service of their fellows, who come and 
go at the nod and beck of the church, and are 
doomed to poverty and an uncertain livelihood all 
their days, cannot be pushed aside like dumb 
cattle. They have rights to be recognized and 
necessities to be met. Their contentment and effi- 
ciency is fundamental to the life of the church. It 
is to the highest interest of the church that the 
ministry be protected and provided for. 

Nevertheless, it is just as true that the ministry 
exists for the church and not the church for the 
ministry. When the church has a ministry to 
support regardless of its efficiency, men who must 
have certain positions whether they deserve them 
or not, who must be privileged to evaluate them- 
selves, and rated accordingly, weakness and 
torpor will succeed strength and aggression. Con- 
sider certain factors : 

1. It is not a calamity to have churches inter- 
ested in so vital a matter. Suppose they had no 
concern? Suppose they never raised an eyelash 
or shrugged a shoulder, it mattered not what kind 
of preachers were sent or taken ; or, suppose they 
sent this message to the Annual Conference : "Do 
not be anxious about us. We are not particular. 
Most anybody will do." Suppose a hundred mes- 
sages like that, from the representative churches 

191 



THE ITINEKANCY 

of an Annual Conference were to come to the 
bishop ? The appointments might be easily made, 
but what would eventually become of those easy- 
going churches? Serenely indifferent, growth or 
decadence — either would be welcomed. The fact 
that churches do care indicates their jealousy for 
the Kingdom. 

2. A large measure of responsibility for the 
existing situation belongs to the authorities of the 
church. It is difficult to speak for a denomination 
whose activities are so extensive. Local practices 
are variant, but in a populous section, where many 
of the strongest churches of the denomination are 
located, these tendencies have been noted: 

(1) Instead of dealing directly with a Quar- 
terly Conference, some superintendents have es- 
caped responsibility by asking for the appoint- 
ment of a committee, whose duty it would be to 
select a pastor. Selection could not be made with- 
out investigation, and this involved journeyings 
to and fro in the Conference. 

(2) When such plenary powers have been given 
a committee the possibility of direction or control 
is taken out of the hands of the legally consti- 
tuted authorities. Such a committee, when ap- 
pointed, should be directed to cooperate with the 
superintendent in the selection of a pastor. Its 
activities should be directed by the superintend- 
ent, not by the foolish assertion of authority, but 

192 



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by virtue of his superior knowledge of the preach- 
ers and churches of the entire Conference, and his 
responsibility for the welfare of all concerned. 
The superintendent should take such a committee 
into his confidence at once, speaking plainly of 
the hazards involved, insisting that the welfare 
of the whole work be considered; that the itiner- 
ancy demands justice to all ; that no choice should 
be made that would blight the future of the retir- 
ing pastor, and that the committee and superin- 
tendent must work in harmony to produce the 
best results. 

(3) The superintendent should have a plan for 
immediate presentation to such a committee. He 
must know in advance just what he will do and 
how. To let the matter drift will be fatal. The 
committee will be anxious to get at its work. If 
the superintendent moves swiftly and strongly, 
the first interview will often settle the whole 
matter, his recommendation being accepted, and 
the issue left entirely in his hands. 

But this will be possible only when the superin- 
tendent's plan is feasible. He should be wise 
enough to attempt nothing else. It will be worse 
than useless to recommend either impossible or 
unattainable men — his influence with the commit- 
tee will be destroyed. This tendency has been a 
prolific weakness. It sounds well to take a large 
number of preachers aside, and say, "I recom- 
193 



THE ITINERANCY 

mended you for the pastorate of the Grand Boule- 
vard Church." It makes the brother feel good — 
and does the superintendent no harm, did you 
say? Yes, but it does. It does the preacher no 
good, and it does the superintendent and system 
vast harm. After several useless itineraries the 
committee will lose confidence in the judgment or 
intentions, perhaps both, of the superintendent, 
and will strike out an independent course of in- 
vestigation, reaching a decision in which the 
superintendent has had no part, and which may 
mean havoc in the Conference if consummated. 

The superintendent should not insist upon a 
committee or Quarterly Conference selecting a 
man against whom there may be an unfortunate 
local prejudice. It may be unreasonable or even 
cruel; but if it cannot be removed by a full and 
frank defense, the name should be withdrawn. 
To persist will mean exasperation and an inde- 
pendent choice insisted upon to the point of 
desperation. 

If the superintendent does not have a man 
who will be acceptable to the church, and yet 
needs the vacancy to accommodate his work, he 
may negotiate with a colleague for an acceptable 
man, with the understanding that he shall have 
the privilege of "filling in" the vacated pulpit. 
He will not only save the committee from the 
possibility of a poor choice, by so much reducing 
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the efficiency of his working force, but also give 
deserved promotion to several of his worthy men. 

3. The superintendent must always insist upon 
the tentative nature of all pre-Conference agree- 
ments, either between churches and preachers, or 
between churches, preachers, and himself. He 
must not usurp the functions of the bishop. If 
tentative plans are feasible, the bishop no doubt 
will be glad to accommodate the wishes of all 
concerned. 

4. This evil largely solves itself in the hands of 
capable superintendents of districts. It grows 
apace when unseeing, irresolute, place-seeking 
men occupy the office. Suspicion of capacity or 
disinterestedness will immediately increase the 
tendency of the churches to self-assertion. 

Is it not clear that the district superintendent 
is the "key man" in the itinerancy? While ulti- 
mate decision rests with the bishop, the entire 
administration is in the hands of the superintend- 
ency. The superintendent is in constant personal 
contact with churches, Quarterly Conferences, 
and official boards. He is cognizant, or should be, 
of all the initiatory steps when a change in pas- 
tors is contemplated or decided upon. If the 
church respects his talents, has confidence in his 
judgment, and relies upon his word, he can either 
shape the course of events or have it left entirely 
in his hands. This is a paramount reason for the 

195 



THE ITINERANCY 

exercise of caution in the selection of superin- 
tendents. 

Problems of the Cabinet as a Whole 

They are many and complicated. But let us 
step into the Cabinet, that sanctum sanctorum 
of the itinerancy, and watch the system of ap- 
pointment-making in operation. The bishop will 
not object if we quietly take our spectral station 
at his side while he proceeds to call the list of 
districts. It is understood that the information 
gleaned will be sacredly guarded. This is one 
of the unwritten laws enforced upon all, whether 
visitor or member. Here inviolable confidences are 
exchanged ; the inner lives of churches, communi- 
ties, and men revealed; the welfare of churches 
and the destinies of men, aye, and of immortal 
souls, determined; and it behooves all to speak 
cautiously, listen patiently, and guard sacredly. 
So it is understood that you will say nothing, not 
to one intimate friend, of that which you will 
hear and see. 

The bishop sits at the head of the table with 
the superintendents grouped on either side. He 
has a list of the churches and preachers for each 
district on a large scroll of paper, with wide mar- 
gin for erasure in the column containing the 
names of the preachers. The superintendents 
have duplicate lists, though some may not care 

196 



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to follow the mutations in the various districts, 
and will have single lists of their own districts. 

The bishop will now go through the list of dis- 
tricts alphabetically, calling the names of the 
churches, and asking for information in each 
case. Is a change desired by either church or 
pastor? If so, is it really desirable, from the 
standpoint of one or both, that a change should 
be made this year? Does the situation demand 
a change regardless of the consequences? What 
are the wishes of the membership of the church? 
Has the Quarterly Conference taken action? Is 
it reasonable? 

What becomes of the retiring pastor? Is there 
a place for him? Yes? That is good. Will he 
be satisfied? O, you have talked to him about it, 
and he agrees? That is better, and we will note 
the exchange between these brethren. Let us go 
on with the list. 

You say this brother ought to move, but you 
have no definite plan at this time. Very well, 
talk it over fully with him. Acquaint him with 
the situation he must face if he returns another 
year. Also carefully consider probable openings 
for him in other parts of your district, and we 
will take up his case later. 

Smoldering discontent has broken out into a 
flame which will make it impossible for this 
brother to return, did you say? If he has said 

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THE ITINERANCY 

that he will not return under any circumstances, 
we will invite a tragedy by sending him back. 
You are positive that there is not an opening for 
him anywhere on your district? Let us see what 
these other superintendents can do for him. 

No, this brother must not be left "in the air." 
If he cannot be put down either permanently or 
temporarily at some new place, put him back for 
the time being where he has been. In the mean- 
time his case will be kept in mind as we study 
the general plan. 

You say this man has been invited to return, 
and is expected back by his church, but that it 
will be all right to move him. It will not be the 
policy of this administration to move such a man, 
unless, in the exigency of final adjustment, it 
becomes unavoidable. 

And this other brother has left his church 
under the impression that he desires to return, 
but he really wishes to move, and is urging you 
to make a change? Send him back by all means. 
The man who says one thing and means another, 
should be compelled to mean what he says. 

You say the committee from the first church 

in will be here on Friday. Tell me about 

the personnel of the committee. Has it been duly 
appointed? Is it composed of representative, 
careful men? Are they loyal Methodists? Does 
it represent the sentiment of the church? Has 
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the committee made a choice? You say the whole 
situation is uncertain ? We had better defer con- 
sideration until after Friday. 

What, you are not tired already? Sit down on 
the arm of the bishop's chair. He will not know 
it, and, if he does, will be too polite to object. 
The bishop knows that you will not abuse the 
confidence of the Cabinet. You do not find the 
Cabinet interesting? It must seem a little 
prosaic to a nonparticipant. You expected warm 
discussions and acute differences of opinion? 
Patience, friend, patience, they may come yet. 
One district has scarcely been finished. There 
is no telling what the next one will reveal. You 
insist upon going? That is too bad, but this is 
the way the appointments are made. 

And this is the way. The Cabinet goes at its 
work in this prosaic, plodding way. It knows 
nothing of legerdemain nor waits for brilliant 
intuitions. Days are spent in critical investiga- 
tion, citation of needs, balancing of opposing 
claims, consideration of possible consequences, in 
order that the final decision may be just and 
merciful to both churches and preachers. 

But what are some of the special problems that 
must be worked out in this patient and painstak- 
ing manner? 

1. Every preacher must have a church and 
every church must have a preacher. Do you not 
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THE ITINERANCY 

recall how the bishop refused to leave a preacher 
"in the air"? Why? They might forget to take 
him down! Every member of the Conference 
must have a church. This is the irreducible obli- 
gation of the system to its itinerants. No 
preacher ever goes to the Annual Conference tor- 
mented with the fear that he may be the "one too 
many." There are never too many; no, not once, 
and not one! There may be just enough, or a few 
short, but never too many. 

As the last Cabinet session draws to a close, 
the bishop asks all the superintendents sepa- 
rately: "Are all your preachers provided for?" 
"Are you sure that every church has a preacher?" 
None of the churches is overlooked, and none of 
the preachers forgotten. While this is the com- 
monplace achievement of the system, it is of 
superlative importance. The itinerancy abhors a 
vacuum. The panic in a Methodist church tem- 
porarily without a pastor is amusing. It is in a 
worse mood than a child with the whooping 
cough. Unless the suspense can be relieved at 
once, fragile nerves will break. The organiza- 
tions within the church will all die, and its 
societies disband in three weeks — if one were to 
listen to panic-stricken alarmists. As a matter 
of fact, nothing of the kind will happen. Why 
this unseemly anxiety? The good people are not 
used to it! They have always had such careful 
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THE CABINET 

and continuous pastoral supervision that every- 
thing seems dependent upon it. 

2. Not only must every preacher have a church 
and every church have a preacher, but every 
church must have the preacher it wants and 
every preacher must have the church he wants — 
in so far as it is possible. Exactly this — in so far 
as it is possible. The Cabinet does its very best 
to satisfy both churches and preachers. It spends 
weary hours trying to please everybody. That 
this is impossible does not prevent the attempt. 
Every request will be carefully investigated and 
every known wish considered. Nothing will be 
done hastily or arbitrarily. The Cabinet will 
grant any number of interviews desired by indi- 
vidual laymen, committees, or churches. All who 
wish to consult the bishop in private may do so. 
The superintendents are constantly accessible. No 
camera ooscura methods are employed. If the 
bishop and his advisers do not know the truth 
before the appointments are finally drilled into 
shape, it is nonobtainable. 

3. But the Cabinet still faces a far more diffi- 
cult problem: Every church should have the 
preacher it needs, and every preacher should have 
the church he deserves. With most of us there is 
wide variation between wishes and needs, desires 
and deserts. In such matters the Cabinet must 
differentiate. 

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THE ITINEKANCY 

While the Cabinet wishes to please everyone, 
and aims so to do, yet the requests of the churches 
and the desires of the preachers are, of necessity, 
subjected to critical review. Some of these 
choices have been hastily made, upon inaccurate 
data, and would prove disastrous if granted ; the 
desires of certain preachers may be reasonable 
but impossible, and others are both unreasonable 
and impossible. 

It is the grave problem of the Cabinet, there- 
fore, not to do what others may wish done, or 
even what it may desire to do, but what ought to 
be done. The Cabinet, in order to do its work 
successfully, must know more about the preach- 
ers than do the churches, and more about the 
churches than do the preachers. Without this 
accurate and exhaustive information its conclu- 
sions would be perilous. In order to dissuade a 
church bent upon a wrong course of action the 
Cabinet must have all the facts; and when a 
preacher prefers an impossible request, the Cabi- 
net must be able to tell him the truth, the whole 
truth. 

The church has exhausted its skill in the collec- 
tion and concentration of this information. The 
Cabinet cannot be ignorant of essential facts and 
escape culpability. For an entire year these 
superintendents have been engaged in the sole 
task of collecting information relating to the 
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THE CABINET 

churches and preachers under discussion. They 
have not been blind or deaf ; they should not now 
be speechless. If they have been dull observers, 
and are stupid reporters, their positions should 
be vacated. The bishop should be able to call 
upon any one of them in a given case, assured 
that he will receive "the truth, the whole truth, 
and nothing hut the truth." 

In other words, the Cabinet is the clearing 
house for the calls, invitations, desires, expecta- 
tions, hopes, and necessities of both churches and 
preachers. The Cabinet does more than winnow 
the wheat from the chaff — it judges between 
wheat and chaff. It is not a sieve shaken in the 
wind, but a judicial procedure for discovering the 
truth. 

The utility of the Cabinet will be destroyed 
if the right of review and decision is taken from 
it. If it is to have no opportunity to use its 
expensively acquired information, it might as 
well be abandoned. If the appointments cannot 
be made by those who are charged with the wel- 
fare of all the churches, and who are responsible 
for the operation of the entire system; if every 
church is to grab for the best regardless of the 
consequences, and every preacher is to clamor 
for position regardless of the common weal; if 
there is no right save might, with the strongest 
always dominant, and the loudest always being 
203 



THE ITINEKANCY 

heard; if dispassionate review is not to be per- 
mitted, and exact justice is not to be measured, 
then unquestionably the system is doomed to ulti- 
mate extinction. 

The supreme obligation of the Cabinet is the 
welfare of the work. While the interests of 
church and ministry are interwoven, it must be 
conceded that first consideration belongs to the 
church. The Cabinet proceeds upon this assump- 
tion. Churches and men are patiently fitted to- 
gether. Misalliances are avoided. No effort is 
made to finish the work quickly and get it out 
of the way. 

But the second item, to give every preacher the 
church he deserves, is a much more complicated 
problem. The adjudication of deserts is difficult 
and always disappointing. Every year the ranks 
must be filled up, which is equivalent to saying 
that promotions are inevitable. But who are to 
be promoted, and upon what principle? 

There is one safe criterion — demonstrated 
worth. No other standard would be tolerated 
by either churches or preachers. The man who 
has grown into something larger than he has 
been, deserves something larger than he has had, 
while the man who suffers from lingering ineffi- 
ciency gets little and deserves less. These are 
self-evident truths. 

But here is trouble for the Cabinet, since both 
204 



THE CABINET 

classes are always overcrowded. There are never 
enough openings for those who deserve advance- 
ment, while demotion is a sad experience for both 
the demoted and the demoter. 

And so the Cabinet wrestles with its job. If 
only half the men who deserve promotion can be 
accommodated, how is the selection to be made? 
A new line of discussion is now opened which 
may take the Cabinet far afield. Evidently, 
preference must be given those who have waited 
the longest, or whose particular situation may 
demand immediate consideration. 

Promotion is not always possible to those 
judged worthy. The best intentions of the Cabi- 
net frequently come to grief. It has a clear sense 
of duty, but lacks opportunity. Openings cannot 
be "made in the Cabinet." If this is attempted, 
vexation and ruin will follow. They must be 
logical sequences. Only then will they be legiti- 
mate, without harm to churches or preachers, and 
fall out to the furtherance of the gospel. Preach- 
ers cannot be forced to make way for other 
preachers. Churches and salaries cannot be 
created out of the dust of the ground. The 
Cabinet can give only what it has. This seems 
reasonable, and will be accepted as conclusive, 
except by the brother who deserves promotion — 
or thinks he does — and finds it not. He rarely 
appreciates the sweet reasonableness of it all. 
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THE ITINERANCY 

His obtuseness is human enough to be understood 
by every son of man — a species of mental strabis- 
mus common to us all. 

All of which does not make it any easier for 
the Cabinet, or for the one whose hopes must once 
more be held in abeyance. And so the Cabinet 
continues the work of adjustment, explanation, 
reconciliation with churches and preachers, 
maintaining a judicial attitude, avoiding preju- 
dice or partiality, trying for five or six long days 
and nights to give to the churches the preachers 
they need, and the preachers the churches they 
deserve. 

4. The Cabinet must see that justice is meted 
to every member of the Annual Conference. This 
proposition is fundamental to the life of the 
system. 

Have you ever considered the helplessness of 
the average Methodist preacher, or, indeed, of any 
Protestant clergyman? A church can appoint 
a committee to select a pastor, but a preacher 
cannot go on a tour of inspection to select a 
church. He may be turned out, but can never 
turn in — unless invited. He may be chosen, but 
can never choose. His wares cannot be adver- 
tised, nor his talents exploited. He is the servant 
of all, coming when called, going when sent, and 
doing as directed. He has never been judged, but 
is always being judged. His next lodging place 
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THE CABINET 

will be determined by what he did last year, not 
twenty years ago. 

The Cabinet is the preacher's one safeguard 
against injustice and tyranny. Without it he 
would be a helpless menial, afraid of his shadow, 
and without one hand raised for his protection. 

The Cabinet should give the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church the most independent ministry in 
the world. The Cabinet not only stands between 
the itinerant herald of the truth and its natural 
enemies, but its timid or false friends. The itiner- 
ant who preaches the truth in love suffers no ill. 
He cannot be thrust out and pushed down by an 
unworthy constituency. Nor need he be domi- 
nated by one or two influential individuals whose 
ideas of public morality may be the reflection 
of their own habits. He is appointed to declare 
"the whole counsel of God" — always in love — but 
to declare it. Not once, or twice, nor thrice, but 
ever. Whether men will accept the message and 
honor the messenger, or deny the truth and stone 
the preacher, the Cabinet will see that justice is 
done. 

Take the problem of ministerial "calls" or 
"invitations." The outlook of the committee and 
all of its problems are local in nature. However 
worthy, they are yet local, with little or no con- 
sideration of the general welfare. An itinerancy 
demands the wider outlook. The committee finds 

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THE ITINERANCY 

an acceptable preacher, extends an invitation in 
the name of the local church, and notifies the 
Bishop. All very simple. Very! But has any- 
one thought of the retiring pastor? What will 
become of him? O, the Cabinet will look after 
his interests. Again, very simple. Very! Pos- 
sibly the Cabinet can; very probably the Cabinet 
cannot. The wreckage will be salvaged, if pos- 
sible. The tragic truth is, it is often impossible — 
under the circumstances just described. 

The Cabinet must see that justice is done to the 
mature men of the Conference. Youth is always 
at a premium in the ministry. The churches call 
for dashing, impetuous leadership, motived by the 
boundless optimism of youth. 

But every church cannot have a boy captain at 
the wheel, unless, indeed, time can be turned 
backward or made to stand still. Since neither 
is possible, the inevitable must be faced. It is 
alleged that maturity brings caution, the subsi- 
dence of animal spirits, and the unconscious loss 
of aggressive leadership. Suppose it is true — 
which is not admitted — what then? 

Preachers cannot help growing old, and neither 
can they die at the convenience of the churches. 
Since they will live — some an unconscionably long 
time — what would you advise being done? Retire 
them at forty-five? Their talents are just reach- 
ing maturity. Advance the limit ten years? But 
208 



THE CABINET 

where is the physician, lawyer, banker, merchant, 
mechanic, or laborer, still mentally alert and physi- 
cally strong, who will be satisfied to quit at fifty- 
five, and spend the rest of his years in idleness? 
The preachers' commission has not been revoked, 
and the thought of stopping is repellent. He is 
keenly conscious of the world's moral poverty and 
spiritual wretchedness, and of the gospel's suffi- 
ciency to heal the festering sores of the race. Quit ? 
No! While the day lasts he must toil on. Get- 
ting old ? Nonsense ! Age is measured by vision, 
not years — vision of privilege, duty, opportunity. 
Some of the oldest preachers in the church are 
the youngest in years, while some of the youngest 
in efficiency are the oldest in years. These men 
look to the Cabinet for protection, and not in 
vain. If they were recklessly sacrificed, the 
itinerancy would suffer irreparable injury. 

The Cabinet is also charged with the serious 
duty of caring for the middle-grade men. They 
are among the most industrious and useful in the 
ministry. For a century and a half their un- 
heralded deeds have been filling the continent 
with churches, and heaven with redeemed spirits. 
Not often flattered with "calls" and "invitations," 
they are yet worthy the profound gratitude of the 
church, and should receive such protection as an 
appreciative Cabinet can render. These modest 
lights in the itinerant sky, burning steadily if not 
209 



THE ITINERANCY 

brilliantly through the years, guiding many a 
belated traveler hurrying toward the Judgment, 
deserve sympathetic treatment from those who 
understand their needs and appreciate their 
worth. 

Importance op the Cabinet to the Itinerancy 

It is the Cabinet's task to keep the itinerancy 
in operation. A work too intricate, delicate, and 
important to be performed by one mind, however 
acute or well informed, or by amateurs, however 
large their number. Bungling in the Cabinet 
would soon destroy the itinerancy. Unrest would 
seize the churches if their interests were poorly 
or selfishly handled. Confusion and dismay 
would succeed the present order and prosperity 
if the churches could not depend upon continuous 
and efficient pastoral oversight. If the Cabinet 
did not dispense essential justice, the ministry 
would dwindle away. Men would not submit to 
ignorant coercion or unjust dictation. There was 
much trouble when salaries were equalized by the 
law of the church. Localities differed if stipend 
did not. But to-day, with salaries running the 
gamut from mere subsistence to comfortable sup- 
port, the itinerancy would not last a quadren- 
nium if the preachers did not know that appoint- 
ments were made on the basis of merit. The 
suspicion of favoritism or unjust discrimination 
210 



THE CABINET 

awakens instant revolt. The bishop who forces 
appointments not warranted by facts, or who 
thrusts men out without due and sufficient cause, 
meets with stern opposition. The superintendent 
who is lax in administration, careless in his judg- 
ment of men, reckless in promises, recommenda- 
tions, or promotions, instantly loses favor, and 
should be quickly retired. 

The appointments as finally read will be a com- 
posite of many views. In this single fact lies 
their safety. The bishop will not have had his 
way in every particular, not all the churches will 
have had their wishes granted, and not one of 
the superintendents will have written his entire 
will into the appointments. Out of the crucible 
of all desires, judgments, and conclusions a finer 
product will come than would have been possible 
if one iron will had determined everything. 



211 



CHAPTER VII 
THE ITINERANT IN THE ITINERANCY 

Apostolic in Doctrine and Method 

After rehearsing the story of the origin and 
accomplishments of the itinerancy, and investi- 
gating the mode of its operation, it might be well 
to make some inquiries about the itinerant. While 
it is desirable to know how the activities of the 
itinerancy are directed, yet the study would be in- 
complete were the chief actor in the drama, the 
itinerant, omitted from consideration. The itiner- 
ant is fundamental to the itinerancy. The de- 
velopment of the system would have been impos- 
sible if men had not been found to meet its 
peculiar and exacting requirements. 

Is the itinerant preacher a distinct type? 
When compared with the general clergy of his 
day the early Methodist preacher stood in a class 
by himself. Time has modified these significant 
variations. Methodism not only changed the 
theology of the Protestant world, but elevated the 
standard of life and service in the ministry. 

Most clergymen in the days of John Wesley 
212 



THE ITINERANT IN THE ITINERANCY 

and Francis Asbury were painstakingly edu- 
cated for the ministry. They had looked forward 
to holy orders for many years. The ministry was 
a profession, to be selected either by the indi- 
vidual or by parental authority. But the early 
Methodist preacher, like Amos, had been called 
from the plow; or, like Peter, from his nets; or, 
like Matthew, from the receipt of custom; or, 
like Saul of Tarsus, from the ranks of the perse- 
cutors. Like these ancient worthies, while en- 
gaged in occupations to which they had expected 
to devote their lives, the divine call came. Under 
these circumstances a technical education was 
out of the question. They were too old, the coun- 
try was new, schools were few and far apart; 
the lost sheep were perishing in the wilderness; 
everywhere "fields were white unto harvest," and 
always the pathetic cry for reapers was heard; 
new communities by the hundreds and thousands 
were springing up, many of them without the 
Sabbath day, the Bible, or the molding touch of 
the gospel preacher. The nation was like clay 
on the potter's wheel — plastic to-day, shapen to- 
morrow. What was done must be undertaken at 
once. 

Is it too much to say that Providence was equal 

to the emergency? Men of amazing capability 

seemed to come from everywhere. Eloquent 

preachers, great administrators, keen debaters, 

213 



THE ITINERANCY 

"sons of thunder" and "sons of consolation"; the 
sweetest singers the church has ever known; 
teachers, poets, and theologians, keen of eye, clear 
of brain, warm of heart, clean in life, and conquer- 
ing in spirit; astute in business, unafraid of the 
powers of darkness, and uncompromising in the 
proclamation of the great commission. Ah, how 
fecund those "crude" times were in great men! 
Whence they came, how they grew, those "tall 
men, sun crowned," is a question that only Om- 
niscience can answer. But that they came by 
the tens, hundreds, and even thousands, the 
annals of early Methodism abundantly testify. 
They came, not from the colleges of man but from 
the Greater University of the Quickened Con- 
science and Redeemed Life, where the ear of the 
soul catches, not the prattle of the speculator but 
the Voice of the Eternal; and the eye sees, not 
the vanity of man, but the glory of God ! Bigger 
men there may be in the itinerancy of to-day, 
men of broader vision, better-trained faculties, 
and profounder knowledge, but not greater men. 
The present situation is essentially different. 
Then Methodism was a Great Adventure; to-day 
it is one of the secure assets of the religious 
world. Then an uneducated ministry might 
appeal to an uneducated constituency, but to-day 
an uneducated ministry has no message for an 
educated constituency. Methodism early recog- 
214 



THE ITINERANT IN THE ITINERANCY 

nized this problem, and with characteristic zeal 
has sought its solution. Much of her energy has 
been devoted to the production of a thoroughly 
equipped ministry. But Methodism will ignore 
one of the most significant lessons of her heroic 
past should the employment of technically un- 
educated men be made impossible. As time goes 
on, conditions will inevitably decrease the num- 
ber of men of this class, but the doors should 
never be locked against the possibility of their 
entrance. 

It is not enough to say that the ministry is a 
profession, and that every profession requires 
technical training. It is a CALLING ! The time 
should never come when called men cannot be em- 
ployed because without professional training. If 
John Wesley had pursued that course, he would 
never have lighted a fire that has warmed the 
world. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church in America 
was built by called men: men called from the 
shop, the plow, the store, the forge, and the office ; 
men called as surely as the prophets and apostles 
of old, though generally ignorant of technical 
training in the sciences, or even in divinity. 
They had been anointed by the Spirit of the living 
God, even though human hands had not been laid 
upon their heads. They spake with authority, 
though unskilled in intellectual subtleties. 
215 



THE ITINERANCY 

All hail, ye great men of Methodism's apostolic 
age! Across the century is sent grateful greet- 
ing! Whence came that stature so tall, those 
sympathies so broad, those undertakings so dar- 
ing, those deeds so incredible, that learning so 
profound, those sacrifices so pathetic, those self- 
denials so willing, those sufferings so keen, that 
poverty so dreadful, that love so deep, that faith 
so boundless, that testimony so clear, and that 
death so triumphant? Whence, if not from the 
Indwelling Presence which ye so clearly preached 
and truly witnessed to a world lost in trespasses 
and sins? 

The early Methodist preacher did not dwell in 
a world of abstract speculation. His activities 
were based upon personal experience. His mes- 
sage had not come from books ; no, not even from 
The Book, but out of the deep recesses of his own 
soul, emphasized and confirmed, indeed, by the 
testimonies of the Lord, which are "sure and 
steadfast." He went everywhere crying, 

"What we have felt and seen 
With confidence we tell; 
And publish to the sons of men 
The signs infallible." 

They were "twice-born" men, with a vivid 
consciousness of the travails and glories of the 
second birth. They were not theorizers about 
216 



THE ITINERANT IN THE ITINERANCY 

religion, but personal witnesses to the facts of 
self-consciousness. This emphasis upon personal 
experience made the Methodist preacher a 
modern John the Baptist. If he did not lead 
multitudes into the wilderness, like his ancient 
prototype, he led them out of the wilderness of 
moral darkness and spiritual apostasy. Yes, and 
he followed the lost sheep into the wilderness, 
preaching a simple, scriptural, and apostolic 
gospel; telling them, in the home-spun language 
of their daily lives, the sweet story of Him who 
had died for all, and of whose power to save he 
had incontestable evidence in his own soul. It 
is difficult to realize at this distant day the power 
wielded by this new type of preacher, who but- 
tressed the written Word with the flaming testi- 
mony of his own spirit. 

Other preachers were delivering long homilies 
on ethical subjects, splitting microscopical theo- 
logical hairs, or preaching an interpretation of 
the gospel repugnant to the moral conscience of 
the race, and gradually losing ground before an 
ever increasingly defiant atheism. Early Meth- 
odism not only stemmed the tides of unbelief, but 
put the armies of the aliens to flight, and stopped 
the mouths of many lions. 

The Methodist preacher dare not lose the note 
of personal testimony out of his ministry. He is 
a living witness to a definite fact and a glorious 
217 



THE ITINERANCY 

possibility — his own conversion and the possible 
conversion of every soul — not a deducter of truths 
from certain intellectual premises, however logi- 
cally constructed. The message based upon per- 
sonal experience has a compelling force, a resist- 
less contagion, a sweet reasonableness, unknown 
to theoretical logic, however cogent, and rhetoric, 
however faultless. There will be deep, dark places 
in his own ministry when theory and speculation 
will not answer; times when he will be taken 
up on "an exceeding high mountain" and offered 
many kingdoms; dreadful hours when he will 
stand on the precipice of uncertainty, while the 
cold winds of doubt blow out of the bleak north- 
land, and black clouds of unbelief hang low above 
his head; times when his frail barque will scud 
before the oncoming tempest, and whispering 
demons bid him throw chart and compass over- 
board. Unless he Icnoics "him whom he has 
believed, and is persuaded that" no night, how- 
ever long, can hide His face, and no experience, 
however bitter, can dim the consciousness of His 
love — well, it is summed up in the words : Heaven 
pity him if he does not know! 

And his people, how sorely they will need to 
know that he knows! There will be vague un- 
certainty, a nebulous hesitancy, which brave 
words and loud-spoken phrases will not hide if, 
after all, he is only a guesser about religion. How 
218 



THE ITINERANT IN THE ITINERANCY 

can he who knows not the way to the sheepfold 
guide imperiled souls thither? Some will be 
frail, like the reed shaken in the wind; others 
will stand at the perplexing crossroads, not know- 
ing which way to turn; still others will be over- 
whelmed by life's inexplicable calamities for 
which reason can find neither justification nor 
excuse; and what can he who knows not that he 
knows say? Yes, pity the blind shepherd, but 
how grievous the fate of the sheep committed to 
his care! 

Evangelistic Emphasis 

The early Methodist preacher was the voice of 
one crying in the wilderness, "Repent ye, repent 
ye, for the kingdom of God is at hand." To him 
the world was lying in the arms of the wicked 
one. On every side souls were sinking into hope- 
less night. They needed a Saviour, not at the 
distant day of death, but now; they needed to 
repent, not at a more convenient season, but now. 
They came as the ambassadors of the Great King, 
whose patience had long been despised, and who 
now "commanded men everywhere to repent." 

The primitive Methodist preacher was not a 
lackadaisical temporizer, a frivolous fritterer of 
time, talent, and opportunity, but a mighty in- 
sister upon the fundamentals of repentance, faith, 
and righteousness. His life was devoted to a 
219 



THE ITINERANCY 

serious purpose. He had not entered the ministry 
because it was an honorable profession, and 
would give continuous and respectable employ- 
ment. It was a life of endless toil, danger, and 
privation, to which he had been called — not chosen 
or thrust into by parental authority or injudi- 
cious friends. A call which he had probably ac- 
cepted with great reluctance, and even with fear 
and trembling. He was a man of one idea, but a 
greater has never stirred the soul to action: to 
break the shackles that bind men to their evil 
natures! 

The modern Methodist preacher may have more 
ideas in his mental quiver, but he can have no 
higher motive. Evil is none the less real, and 
sinners none the less plentiful, while the gospel is 
still the "power of God unto the salvation of 
every one that believeth." The Bible has not 
changed its mind about the exceeding sinfulness 
of sin, nor reversed its judgment of the effects of 
sin upon individuals and nations. If man is not 
a sinner in need of a Saviour, and if Jesus Christ 
is not a Saviour able to save every sinner, then is 
Christianity without foundation and the church 
without a mission. That day "whose low descend- 
ing sun" marks the exit of evangelistic preaching 
from the pulpits of Methodism will also toll the 
knell of its unity, spirituality, and propulsive 
power. 

220 



THE ITINERANT IN THE ITINERANCY 

A Believer in Christian Fundamentals 

The primitive Methodist preacher believed in 
God the Creator, the invisible but universal King, 
by whose sovereign will the stars shone, the winds 
blew, the tides ebbed, the flowers in the meadow 
blossomed, the birds in the woodland sang, the 
seasons passed in orderly procession, and under 
whose sleepless superintendence all life had its 
beginning, continuance, and consummation. 

He believed in Jesus Christ, the divine Son of 
the divine Father, who tasted death for every 
sinner, in every clime, on every planet, in every 
part of an illimitable universe. 

He believed in the Holy Ghost, the third Person 
in the adorable Trinity, "the light that lighteth 
every man," inditer of the written Word, con- 
victer of the conscience of man, and witnesser of 
redemption to the pardoned soul. 

He believed in the Bible, as containing the law 
of God and the record of his love, inspired in its 
utterances, infallible in its conclusions concern- 
ing the origin and destiny of the race, and in- 
capable of error in its moral postulates of the life 
that now is and of that which is to come. 

How fiercely he believed in the repentability of 
all men! How scornfully he rejected the mis- 
shapen idea of a limited atonement! He stood 
for the possible moral recovery and spiritual re- 
221 



THE ITINEKANCY 

generation — immediate and complete — of the long 
time and deepest-dyed sinner on the planet. The 
door of mercy opened by the wounded hand nailed 
to the cross would never close until the shadows 
fell on the evening of time's last day! Can we 
wonder that he was gladly heard by those who 
had grown weary in mind, cold in heart, and way- 
ward in life as they listened to labored specula- 
tions justifying the goodness of a God who had 
foredoomed the greater part of his creation to 
destruction? 

And how militant was his faith in the efficacy 
of the gospel! His soul had found the bed-rock 
of final conviction. The note of uncertainty was 
never struck in his message. His grammar might 
slip and his rhetoric fault; he might know little 
of science and less of philosophy; he might hesi- 
tate in etiquette, or be ignorant of social conven- 
tionalities, but about the capacity and efficiency 
of the "fountain opened in the house of David 
for sin and uncleanness" he was certain beyond 
all peradventure of doubt. 

One generation of anaemic preachers whose 
creed is largely composed of negatives, and Meth- 
odist militancy will be a memory. The church did 
gloriously when its preachers had little but faith, 
but will suffer inglorious defeat when they have 
everything but faith. Without wealth, social 
prestige, or grasping the sword of civil power, its 

222 



THE ITINERANT IN THE ITINERANCY 

legions crossed rivers, climbed mountains, sub- 
dued cities, sailed seas, challenged hoary super- 
stitions, and built a spiritual empire coextensive 
with the race. But time will witness the ruin 
of this achievement if the foundation upon which 
it was built disintegrates — FAITH. 

Related Religion to the Daily Life 

Religion was valueless, in their estimation, un- 
less expressed in terms of daily life. Good works 
were the result, not the cause of salvation. Re- 
pentance was useless unless it issued in a clean 
life. Religion was not cold intellectuality, but 
a vital emotion, transforming the moral inclina- 
tions and setting the heart throbbing with the 
joy and power of a new creation. Religion did 
not consist in certain formulas, vocal intonations, 
physical genuflections, or in credal denials or 
affirmations, but in doing justly, loving mercy, 
walking humbly with one's God, and in keeping 
oneself unspotted from the world. Religion regu- 
lated the life as icell as saved the soul; but a well- 
regulated life was the fruit, not the source of 
salvation. Methodism insists to-day, as ever in 
the past, on the worthlessness of creed unrooted 
in life. 

Believed in the Itinerancy 

The ceaseless toil and heavy sacrifices de- 
manded of the early Methodist preacher were 
223 



THE ITINEKANCY 

possible upon no other assumption. His journeys 
were long, accommodations rude, congregations 
small, his reception often uncertain, his fare poor, 
and his compensation inadequate. But he be- 
lieved in the itinerancy, in the moral and spirit- 
ual truths for which it stood. He saw the im- 
mense possibilities of achievement in the new 
system of ministerial supply and control. The 
itinerancy, in spite of bitter opposition, was cover- 
ing the continent with a network of contiguous 
churches. It was blessing isolated communities 
with systematic religious privileges, and promised 
to become the dominating religious force in the 
New World. 

His faith has become fact, his vision a glorious 
reality. Indeed, the fact must have proved 
greater than the faith, the reality more glorious 
than the vision. It is hardly possible that he 
anticipated the amazing development of these 
latter years, but that he was part of a movement 
pregnant with vast moral and spiritual possi- 
bilities he firmly believed. 

The faith of the past is the reality of the 
present. That which the father believed the son 
possesses. But is he a worthy son of a noble sire? 
Often appreciation dies with possession. The 
great days are often the meager days of obscurity, 
poverty, and struggle. Is this true of Methodism 
and of Methodist preachers? We think not. 
224 



THE ITINERANT IN THE ITINERANCY 

Why should the itinerant of to-day be less 
partial to his peculiar system? Has time de- 
veloped weaknesses unsuspected in the begin- 
ning? Are there administrative defects that 
grow more pronounced as the church becomes 
larger and its management more complex? Those 
acquainted with present-day conditions must 
answer in the negative. Time has revealed 
strength instead of unexpected weaknesses, and 
the itinerancy has never been more firmly estab- 
lished in the hearts of its constituency, lay and 
clerical, than to-day. Is its retention a debatable 
question with the average Methodist preacher? 
Ask the first one you meet. He may have prob- 
lems, but how to get rid of the itinerancy is not 
one of them. Would he exchange a system that 
promises continuous employment during the 
workday of life for one that may presently leave 
him without roof over his head or salary in his 
pocket? 

The itinerant is in the itinerancy because he 
believes in the system, and desires to spend his 
life in its service. He is not under compulsion. 
He can go elsewhere, but prefers to remain where 
he is. He has learned that if the system asks 
much of the faithful worker in the ranks, it 
gives more, and that he who does his best will 
have little occasion to worry and no cause for 
regret. 

225 



THE ITINEKANCY 

The First Year 

Of all the years of one's ministry the most 
profitable — in the retrospect! Let it be assumed 
that the young man has not attempted to bargain 
with the superintendent, nor dictate to the bishop 
just where his labors shall begin. For once, and 
once only, the right of disposal belongs entirely 
to the "powers that be." Additional factors will 
enter into all future appointments. 

Already the superintendent has a mental ap- 
praisement of this young man's value. He has 
probably made careful inquiries, by correspond- 
ence or interviews, concerning his equipment, ex- 
perience, temperament, and adaptability. His 
information and impressions are laid before the 
Cabinet. Probably additional facts are elicited, 
especially if he chances to be a native of the Con- 
ference, and a suitable opening is found. The 
Cabinet may enjoy greater freedom in making 
the first appointment, but it could not exercise 
greater care. If he is a young man of promise, 
the various superintendents will be anxious for 
his services, and he may be given to the one with 
the largest opportunity, unless the superintend- 
ent from whose district he hails has special claims 
upon his services, or there is a particularly needy 
field to which he may have been promised. 

It will be noticed that judgment begins before 
226 



THE ITINERANT IN THE ITINERANCY 

the young man receives his first appointment, 
and that his judges are his future colleagues. A 
decision based upon what they can see, have 
heard, or actually know, is rendered, and the 
young man hears his name read in the list of ap- 
pointments for the first time. 

This young man will soon observe certain facts 
in connection with the personnel of the Confer- 
ence. 

1. Some of the preachers maintain a stationary 
position in the Conference. If there is any varia- 
tion in location or salary, it is so slight as to be 
scarcely noticeable. The Conference minutes will 
show that for twenty or thirty years they have 
moved on a certain level. 

2. Some preachers are slowly but surely ad- 
vancing. There are no quick and striking ad- 
vances, nor are there any sudden and disastrous 
retreats. There is gradual progression in charac- 
ter and support. 

3. Other preachers will soon be found in the 
front ranks. There has been no intermediate 
period of growth or advancement. Their many 
talents have won quick and permanent recogni- 
tion. 

4. There will also be a small class of variants, 
whose appointments show suggestive fluctuations. 
There have been promotions and demotions. Evi- 
dently, they have been tried out in various types 

227 



THE ITINERANCY 

of appointments, and some of the "trials" have 
proven disastrous. This shows that they have not 
been victims of ill will or hasty conclusions. 
These men, long protected and endured by the 
itinerancy, are usually its severest critics. 

There may be other divisions or subdivisions, 
but these will be the main classes found in every 
Annual Conference. 



How Does it Happen? 

Why do variations exist? It might be an- 
swered that there are different types of churches 
— rural, village, town, and city churches — and 
that each requires particular consideration. This 
is true as to condition, but inadequate as to expla- 
nation. It might also be answered that any com- 
pany of one hundred or two hundred men will 
differ radically in ability, adaptability, and conse- 
cration. Some will belong in the large churches, 
and others in the small churches. But why is 
this true? Why can it be said that some belong 
in the country and others in the city? Your 
finger is now on the pulse of one of the problems 
of the ages. Man's capacity for variety, is it not 
infinite? The birds of a species will all build 
their nests in one way, showing little variety in 
taste or skill. All life, man alone excepted, runs 
in certain fixed grooves, deep and unchangeable. 

228 



THE ITINERANT IN THE ITINERANCY 

Human beings, in taste, temperament, and ca- 
pacity, will differ as widely as the poles. 

What the Preachers Say About It 

If our young preacher will ask the members of 
the Conference about it, he will receive a variety 
of answers. One will say it is all a matter of 
chance. Some are born to luck. The first ap- 
pointment was a "fortunate accident," affording 
exceptional opportunities for achievement and 
recognition, and so the good fortune has con- 
tinued. Another will say it is the result of favorit- 
ism. Certain men, it will be averred, have been 
the "pets" of bishops and superintendents. Their 
failures have been winked at and glaring short- 
comings overlooked. Still another thinks that it 
is owing to the skill of certain men with the 
authorities. They are adepts in the art of flat- 
tery, and know how to please those who can help 
them. If the bishop says, "Thumbs up," it is 
"thumbs up"; and if the superintendent says, 
"Thumbs down," why, it is "thumbs down" ! And 
yet another will say that it is because certain 
preachers are excellent manipulators of appoint- 
ments. They understand the gentle art of getting 
"calls," or being "called back." They are adepts 
in personal publicity. Perhaps he will also meet 
the brother who insists that it is all a matter of 
trading. Given the first appointment, some men 
229 



THE ITINERANCY 

will swap churches like others do horses; and, 
as in the latter case, some men will soon have 
thoroughbreds and others spavined derelicts. 

How much truth will there be in these explana- 
tions? Very little, if any. An occasional acci- 
dent along one of the lines suggested may have 
occurred. Such discrepancies are unavoidable. 
But to magnify an accident or a discrepancy into 
a principle is ridiculous. The men who have just 
been interviewed could be easily described, but 
what would be the use? The substantial, reliable 
men, whose achievements are on record, and whose 
deeds are building the Conference, will have an- 
other story to tell. Acquaint them with the sub- 
stance of the above interviews and they will name 
the interviewed. The men who hold these opinions 
are known, and why. 

Promotion is Based Upon Merit 

It is sincerely hoped that our young friend who 
has just been received on trial and who has started 
for his first appointment will never entertain any 
other idea. If he does, disappointment and defeat 
will be his inevitable portion. If he will look 
carefully beneath these specious reasons, he will 
find them a clumsy disguise for inefficiency. It is 
human to justify one's failure by discounting an- 
other's success, but it gets one nowhere, and the 
sooner it is abandoned the better. 
230 



THE ITINERANT IN THE ITINERANCY 

If the itinerancy had not been based upon jus- 
tice to the itinerants, it could never have lasted 
a century and a half. If its awards go by luck, 
favoritism, cajolery, or to skillful manipulators, 
the indifference of its sturdy rank and file of 
devoted men is colossal. No, no, young friend; 
justice, always justice, and justice only, is the 
corner stone of the itinerancy. Talk the matter 
over with your superintendent. Ask him why the 
men of your district are just where they happen 
to be. Have him take you into his confidence. 
He knows the future — barring the unexpected — 
of every man on the district. He will tell you 
how this information has been acquired. 

The Fundamental Question 

It has not yet been broached. Admitting that 
appointments are based upon merit, it might be 
asked, Why is there such divergence in merit? 
This is the great question! Answer it, and you 
have solved the last riddle. 

Is merit in the ministry achieveable, or is it 
wholly a matter of inheritance, education, and 
training? Must one simply stumble along, doing 
the day's work, hoping for the best, and taking 
what comes, with little chance for either higher 
record or lower register? What think you? 
Surely, that is not the Christian conception of 
life. It is fate. Christianity means reason, 
231 



THE ITINERANCY 

choice, the right of free decision, the summoning 
of one's will, and the hammer blow of personal 
assertion. We are born with tendencies, not 
habits; with characteristics, not character. These 
are not made for us, but by us, and out of them 
are the issues of life. 

It will be great gain to our young probationer, 
standing at the gateway of his ministry, if he 
grasps these simple facts. To him is committed 
the question of fixing his place in the Conference. 
Not what others do for him, but what he does for 
others, will decide the matter. Place-seekers 
scheme for position, and generally miss the goal ; 
while character husbands its resources, seeks the 
progressive development of its faculties, and 
makes opportunities the highway of achievement. 

There are certain factors which determine one's 
position in an Annual Conference. Let some of 
them be noted: 

The Opinion of One's Fellow Preachers 

No class of men have closer fellowship, keener 
joy in each other's society, a deeper knowledge 
of each other's worth, or a livelier appreciation 
of each other's shortcomings! The collective 
judgment of an Annual Conference concerning 
one of its members is a wing or a weight. It is 
a judgment which any man may justly dread, for 
from it there is no appeal. 
232 



THE ITINERANT IN THE ITINERANCY 

Methodist preachers appreciate capacity and 
achievement in their colleagues. They are quick 
to recognize worth, and the great men in their 
ministry do not fail of honor. But they have 
little patience with the man who never ceases to 
be a problem. 

There are so many of them, and they touch 
elbows so frequently, that there may be an un- 
fortunate tendency to judge hastily and speak 
carelessly. And there is such real camaraderie 
between the laity and ministry that the latter 
often speak quite intimately and freely with the 
laity about their brethren. This should be done 
with great caution. One sentence, that might 
mean little or nothing when spoken between min- 
isters, when spoken to a layman — or in his hear- 
ing — may open an impassable gulf before the feet 
of a fellow minister. One should always do in 
such a case as one would wish to be done by. No 
deception need be practiced, and neither should 
pettiness nor jealousy be permitted. 

An Annual Conference was to be entertained. 
The host sent inquiries to the ministers as to 
their choice of a possible roommate. Fourteen 
requests came for the same young man. Occasion- 
ally two or even three nominations were received 
for the same individual. But that so many, 
representing the various types and ages in the 
Conference, should ask for the same man was food 
233 



THE ITINEKANCY 

for thought. Why so many should request the 
privilege of a week's fellowship with the same 
young man ceased to be an enigma on acquaint- 
ance. This preacher has one valuable asset for 
his life's work: the good opinion of his fellow 
ministers — an advantage that will mean much. 
Many a man has awakened to its value too late, 
and our young preparatory member will do well 
if, among his other conquests, he aims for a high 
place in the esteem of his brethren. 

Value of Personal Friendship 

While he should make a friend out of every 
minister in the Conference, his few personal 
friends should be selected ivith great caution. 
Personal friendship is one of the ruling factors 
in every life. Personal friends enjoy too many 
privileges, and exercise too great control over 
one's ideas, ideals, and decisions to be carelessly 
selected. One's personal friendships are often 
the open-sesame to his character. 

It was noticed that two young ministers who 
had been entertained together at several Annual 
Conferences, and who were considered associates 
by the Conference, were not seen in company as 
aforetime. An acquaintance asked: "Where is 
your friend — no trouble, I hope?" 

"No," was the response, "nothing has happened. 
We are just as good friends as ever, but he is 
234 



THE ITINERANT IN THE ITINERANCY 

peculiar, and is rapidly acquiring a reputation 
for eccentricities in the Conference. I do not 
wish to be considered as belonging to that class." 

Calculating selfishness, did you say? Nothing 
of the kind. If his friend had been curable, it 
would have been different. Such men rarely are, 
and this one was not, and in a few years he was 
out of the ministry. One may survive an occa- 
sional illness, or outgrow infelicitous expressions 
or awkward habits, but temperamental quirks 
and mental twists are carried to the grave. 

It is not that our young friend will copy the 
peculiarities of his querulous friend. He may be 
too sensible for that. But the time given to such 
a friend will be wasted. While friendly to all, 
his personal friends should be selected from those 
who are his intellectual and spiritual peers. They 
will be of inestimable value in the years to come. 
Their sane counsel may drag him back from many 
a precipice! Such friends will grow. Ten years 
later their worth will probably be recognized far 
and wide. They will be among the strong men of 
the denomination. Our young preacher will grow 
with them. Every hour spent in their society will 
make him a bigger and better man. 

Yes, and he should study to make himself 
worthy the friendship of worthier men. This is 
one of the highest values of a great friendship: 
one does not wish to disappoint one's friend. It 

235 



THE ITINERANCY 

is an intellectual and moral stimulus to have 
friends one is ashamed to grieve. Cheap friends 
with low aims, rude manners, lewd speech, and 
coarse laughter are a positive menace. The 
meaner one does, the better they are pleased. 

And would it not also be well for our young 
preparatory member to remember that friendship 
is reciprocal in its nature? Friendship is never 
an accident, but always an intention. Friendship 
is a rare flower, of slow growth, requiring a rich 
soil and frequent cultivation. Its rare fragrance 
is never caught by the cold, repellent, ironical 
spirit. One who hungers for friends must not 
wait to be feted, but respond courteously to such 
natural opportunities for friendship as may come 
to him. 

Peril in Personal Antagonisms 

They should be persistently avoided. All human 
beings are instinctively conscious of both attrac- 
tion and repulsion. If some attract strongly, 
almost irresistibly, others repulse just as em- 
phatically. 

But personal dislikes are often foolish, unrea- 
sonable, and cruel. Their frequent recurrence pits 
a disposition with ugly scars. The most dis- 
agreeable people in the world are those whose 
dislikes are quick, outspoken, and unchangeable. 
The preacher who falls into this sad habit will 
236 



THE ITINERANT IN THE ITINERANCY 

soon find himself shunned, his talents discounted, 
and his usefulness curtailed. 

Like produces like. Antagonizing means an- 
tagonism, and disliking makes one disliked. As 
one metes it will be measured. The young 
preacher must not expect what he does not give. 
The day may come when he will regret the slight- 
est act of discourtesy done to the humblest mem- 
ber of the Conference. Doing right in the present 
is doing well for the future. 

This young preacher must learn to be big and 
brotherly in all matters relating to the debates 
and decisions of the Conference. Even good men 
do not always see eye to eye. Differences over 
policies should not degenerate into personal 
antagonisms. Every man has a right to his 
opinion, and should enjoy the largest liberty in 
expression. But after this privilege has been 
exercised, and the vote taken, it should end there. 
He should be slow to take offense, either in the 
heat of debate or subsequent thereto. Spoken 
words often have an unexpected significance. 
Debate is dangerous pastime for small minds. 
And if this promising probationer cannot learn 
how to differ, and differ strongly, with his breth- 
ren and keep sweet, he had better keep his 
seat. 

In this Conference are the men with whom his 
life must be spent. He will touch elbows with 
237 



THE ITINERANCY 

them constantly. Not only are personal antago- 
nisms entirely out of place among Christian minis- 
ters — a sad spectacle to men and angels — but 
when projected through the long years of asso- 
ciation in an Annual Conference, they become a 
scandal to the church and a tragedy in the lives 
of otherwise good and useful men. Be slow to 
give offense; be slower to take offense; be slowest 
to show offense. The small man gives offense; 
the smaller man takes offense; and the smallest 
man shows offense ! 



Relation to the District Superintendent 

The preparatory member has already come in 
contact with the district superintendent. This 
officer probably presided over the Quarterly Con- 
ference in which he was licensed to preach, and 
which recommended him for reception on trial in 
the Annual Conference. The superintendent pre- 
sented this recommendation to the Annual Con- 
ference, and represented the candidate when his 
name was called. The bishop has probably ac- 
cepted the judgment of the superintendent con- 
cerning his appointment, and from the lips of the 
superintendent have fallen final words of caution 
and cheer as he leaves the Conference for his first 
field of labor. 

It will be noticed that the superintendent is 
238 



THE ITINERANT IN THE ITINERANCY 

intimately connected with the opening chapter of 
his ministerial career. And this intimacy must 
continue until far down the years, as he sits with 
moist eyes and throbbing heart at the end of his 
itinerancy, a district superintendent will rise in 
some Annual Conference and move that he be 
granted the retired relation. The district super- 
intendent will be a vital factor in his ministry, 
closely associated with all its far-reaching de- 
cisions, struggles, disappointments, and achieve- 
ments. He may see the bishop occasionally and 
come in contact wuth him infrequently. Years 
may pass without giving him occasion to meet 
one of the chief pastors of the church. But the 
superintendent will be a frequent visitor in his 
home, sensing its atmosphere, orderliness, and 
spirit. In the Quarterly Conference the superin- 
tendent w T ill enter into the inner consciousness of 
his ministry, his industry, fidelity, and efficiency 
becoming an open book. It is the superintend- 
ent to whom he must look for advice in adminis- 
trative difficulties. All the delicate questions in- 
volved in a change of appointments must be laid 
before the superintendent. No other one man 
will exert a more subtle influence upon his career. 
The itinerancy makes this inevitable. The super- 
intendent's power over his career is more than 
potential — occasionally it must be exercised in a 
radical and decisive manner. 
239 



THE ITINERANCY 

Its Significance Should Be Recognized 

The significance of this situation must be 
apparent to the dullest mind. In a very real 
sense the future of this young man is in the hands 
of his superintendent. This fact need occasion 
no alarm. The superintendent understands the 
situation. Where this young man now stands he 
once stood. His anxiety and occasional alarm is 
often recalled with a smile. He remembers the 
friendly interest of the superintendent, his 
fatherly advice and sparing criticism, his gener- 
ous commendation and cautious censure. All he 
then wished his superintendent might be he aims 
to be to every young man on his district. The 
young preacher will not be judged hastily, repri- 
manded coldly, nor treated harshly. It is prob- 
able that the superintendent will become his life- 
long friend, and that out of this delightful dis- 
trict association will grow an intimacy that will 
deepen in time and ripen in eternity. 

Personal Attitude Toward the Superintendent 

Let it be natural and cordial. The superintend- 
ent should not be embarrassed by obsequious 
attention or elaborate entertainment. Greet him 
with the ease and courtesy with which you would 
welcome any guest to your home. Do not set a 
standard of effusiveness to which you will not 
240 



THE ITINEKANT IN THE ITINEKANOY 

adhere three weeks after his retirement from 
office ! The superintendent will not expect special 
consideration. Pay him the respect due his 
character and station, but eschew eulogistic in- 
troductions. Make him your friend and the 
friend of your family, but avoid the impression 
that your hospitality is on the basis of compensa- 
tion! 

Prepare for His Coming 

Examine the Discipline carefully concerning 
the business of the Quarterly Conference. The 
fact that this is often neglected will make your 
preparedness all the more conspicuous. Give the 
superintendent a revised roll of the membership 
of the Conference. Have the names of the trus- 
tees, superintendents, and presidents of the vari- 
ous societies recently elected ready for confirma- 
tion. The pastor's report should be carefully 
written, covering the various items of interest 
throughout the life of the church. The president 
or superintendent of each society should have a 
written report. 

The pastor's attitude toward the Quarterly 
Conference will determine the estimate in which 
it is held by the people. If it is listlessly an- 
nounced, and little or no preparation made to 
answer the questions which it will raise, the at- 
tendance will be indifferent and the interest dis- 
241 



THE ITINERANCY 

appointing. The entire work of the church should 
pass in review before the Quarterly Conference 
two or three times each year. This is the design 
of the Discipline, and should be the practice of 
the church. The list of nominations for the vari- 
ous offices and committees should be in triplicate, 
one copy handed to the secretary, another to the 
superintendent, and the third kept by the pastor. 
Items of information and plans of work not 
specifically called for should be presented under 
the head of "other business." The treasurer 
should be at the Conference, and prepared for an 
interview with the superintendent! 

Eoutine suggestions? Commonplace require- 
ments always observed, did you say? Just accom- 
pany your superintendent to the next half dozen 
Conferences and see what takes place. One long- 
time preacher looked up in surprise when his 
report was called for. 

"Report," said he, evidently in a bewildered 
state of mind, "on what?" 

"On hog-raising in this community," the super- 
intendent prompted. 

After the uproar had ceased the pastor rose to 
his feet and blandly said, "I report progress !" 

The superintendent gently inquired, "in which 
direction, forward or backward?" 

The pastor of about forty members, some of 
whom averred that he was grossly careless of 
242 



THE ITINERANT IN THE ITINERANCY 

pastoral duties, started out boldly to read his 
report, but after one short paragraph looked up 
in evident distress of mind and said, "I have had 
so much to do lately that I have been trying for 
two weeks to finish this report, but could not find 
the time to do it." 

When the superintendent asks, "Who are con- 
firmed as Sunday school superintendents ?" the 
pastor will sometimes answer, "No changes." The 
members of the Conference will begin to correct 
him: 

"Was not William Miller elected superintend- 
ent over at Eagle Hollow?" 

"O, yes," the unabashed preacher replies, "I 
forgot that change." 

And so the agony continues down through the 
list. Ignorance from the pastor as to what has 
happened on his own charge, and information 
from the laity ! 

But the climax was reached in a Quarterly 
Conference where the young preacher, six years 
in the ministry and all his life in the Methodist 
Church, insisted that the stewards were to be 
elected by the first Quarterly Conference, and 
could not be convinced until the superintendent 
handed him a copy of the Discipline. 

"Well," said he, "it is a small matter, anyway." 

But it was not a small matter when, at the 
close of the Conference, he importuned the super- 
243 



THE ITINERANCY 

intendent to know what his prospects were for 
the coming year. 

"A little foggy," the superintendent might well 
have replied. "But, never mind, that 'is a little 
matter, anyway !' " 

The pastor was the least interested member in 
that Quarterly Conference. He had no report. 
No one had a report. Although the preacher was 
closing his third year, he had no information to 
volunteer, and none could have been extracted 
with a pair of forceps. Though he did show con- 
siderable enthusiasm over the abandonment of 
one of the churches of the circuit! 

Such a Conference is a painful experience. 
What can be done either with or for such a 
preacher? Little can be done with him, and noth- 
ing much can be done for him. But can he not 
be awakened? Well, go around and try it. How 
can the man who sleeps with his eyes open ever 
be awakened? What did the Master say about 
casting pearls? Sometimes, sad to relate, it is 
useless. 

Be Loyal to Your District 

Maybe you would like to be elsewhere, but you 
are here, and while here do not become an incum- 
brance or a nuisance. Affiliate cordially with 
district movements. They may not need you, but 
you need them. Attend every meeting of the 
244 



THE ITINERANT IN THE ITINERANCY 

District Ministerial Association, or write the 
superintendent a note of explanation. Take your 
assigned place on the program. Give particular 
attention to the composition of your essay or the 
preparation of your address. Your first appear- 
ance before this body may be of great importance 
to you. The mental yardstick will be applied to 
your production. Your appearance, voice, sub- 
ject, treatment, rhetoric, enunciation, and pro- 
nunciation will be carefully noted. 

You do not care what they think, since your 
future will not depend upon their judgment? 
Perhaps not, but one's reputation is made up of 
many bits of information, conjectures, conclu- 
sions, gathered on many occasions and in various 
ways. And it certainly will be a bad beginning 
to send forty or fifty men back to their various 
communities in a critical mood. But your un- 
fortunate attitude intimates a serious fault. 
Cynical indifference is one of the deadliest of all 
ministerial shortcomings. It generally spells 
careless preparation for the pulpit, carelessness 
in pastoral work, downright indifference in ad- 
ministration, and positive failure everywhere 
regardless of opportunities. 

But you will not only have your fellow pastors 
to please, you will have your superintendent to 
satisfy. He does not have many opportunities to 
hear your public deliverances. You will have no 

245 



THE ITINERANCY 

keener or more critical listener in the district 
audience. This gathering means much to the 
superintendent, permitting consultation with his 
entire working force several times each year. The 
program is largely his handiwork. There district 
programs are adopted and inaugurated. 

Keeping in Touch with Headquarters 

Correspondence from the district superintend- 
ent should receive immediate attention. Put the 
quarterly bulletin in a conspicuous and safe 
place, and let the time for the next Quarterly 
Conference be carefully noted. Do not let the 
superintendent find that you have "forgotten all 
about it." Every circular received from the su- 
perintendent should be carefully read, its exact 
contents understood, and full compliance granted. 
Drop the superintendent an occasional line about 
the happenings on your charge. When near his 
home step in for a friendly chat. Be cheerful and 
optimistic about your work. 

Your Next Appointment 

Say little to the superintendent about it. Wait 
until you have raised two or three crops on your 
present farm. Nothing wearies a superintendent 
more than the ill-timed speculations of a young 
preacher about his next appointment. He cannot 
tell just now where you ought to be in two or 
246 



THE ITINERANT IN THE ITINERANCY 

three years. It all depends on how tall you grow 
in the meantime, and also on the available open- 
ings when the time comes to move. Long-distance 
expectations should not be cultivated. It is un- 
derstood that you are anxious about the matter, 
but so is the superintendent, and the best way to 
provide for the future is to take care of the pres- 
ent job. The superintendent will broach the 
matter to you in the fullness of time. 

However, when the right time comes, do not 
hesitate to open your mind fully to the superin- 
tendent. This is his problem. Take no radical 
action about next year without his knowledge, 
nor, if possible, without his consent. Never make 
it impossible to return for another year. Going 
is always possible in the itinerancy, but the going 
is apt to be a little rough when one has to go. 

Do not demand definite information from the 
superintendent. Like the weather man, he can 
only deal in "probabilities." Openings may occur 
later in the Conference year — they generally do — 
but definite assurances cannot be based upon that 
assumption. 

Cultivate staying qualities. Rigidly resist the 
tendency to restlessness. Conditions may be un- 
satisfactory, but there is no certainty that they 
will be better elsewhere. Human beings make 
conditions, and the same kind of folks are found 
everywhere. Compel yourself to get along with 
247 



THE ITINERANCY 

peculiar people. Maybe some people are having 
a hard time getting along with you! But they 
are not going to move out of the community to 
get rid of you. Do not think that you must fly 
to pastures new the moment Sister Grouchy 
stiffens her back or Brother Sparks emits a few. It 
is only a matter of habit with them. If you will 
get over it, they will. Come, now, moral cowardice 
is never attractive. Turn your foolish fears into 
joyous laughter; then get down on your knees 
and thank the Lord for the privilege of staying 
just where you are and changing flight into stead- 
fastness; then go into the study and write the 
superintendent the most glowing letter your 
quickened faculties can dictate; then start in to 
visit all the shut-ins, the down-and-outs, the 
physically frail and spiritually discouraged of 
the flock ; then draw up a refreshing draught from 
the deep wells of salvation, and hold its sparkling 
contents to the lips of your famishing flock — O, 
how their eyes will open with glad surprise, their 
hearts leap with joy! — and right away they will 
say: "We must not let this young preacher go. 
We dare not wait for the Quarterly Conference. 
The official board must act at once, and get his 
consent to remain." 

Make no public reference to the matter of going 
or staying. Once upon a time a preacher did 
that. In an address of welcome to a convention 
248 



THE ITINERANT IN THE ITINERANCY 

he grew eloquent about his church, and con- 
cluded : "These are dangerous things to say in 
the presence of so many preachers, but I want to 
warn them that this pulpit will not be vacant for 
four years and nine months" (the church then 
had a five-year limit), "and I have so notified my 
official board." His notification must not have 
been duly served, for he vacated the pulpit just 
nine months later! It rarely pays to take undue 
liberties with an official board. In such a bout 
the clerical knight will always lose his lance. 

Let your work show that you are entitled to 
stay, but say nothing about it. If the church 
takes favorable action, well and good. But do 
not court it, and do not tie yourself up so closely 
that a change will be impossible — unless there is 
real necessity for your return — it matters not 
what opportunities the Annual Conference may 
reveal. Tell the Quarterly Conference that you 
are a loyal Methodist preacher, and that the dis- 
position of your case must be left in the hands 
of your ecclesiastical overseer, the presiding 
bishop. 

The Personal Equation 

After all, in every realm of human endeavor 

the personal factor is decisive. There may be 

contributory causes and considerations, but the 

man himself, his tendencies, habits, and peculiari- 

249 



THE ITINERANCY 

ties, determine his position in life. One's place 
in an Annual Conference is fixed in like manner. 
Conditions over which he has had no control have 
had little to do with it. He may have other, ex- 
tensive and eloquent explanations. If one could 
just trim him up a bit, lopping off eccentricities, 
ironing out wrinkles, and toning down peculiari- 
ties, he might be made to resemble a worth-while 
preacher. But these "eccentricities," "wrinkles," 
and "peculiarities" are his particular delight. 
He would not part with them for a kingdom. 
They are the "expression of his personality." 

Some Men Not Adapted to the Ministry 

It may not be a question of education or charac- 
ter, nor an absence of earnest desire to do every- 
thing possible to achieve success. An acceptable 
ministry is not possible to some men who have 
deemed themselves called to the work. The min- 
istry is a peculiar occupation, requiring intellec- 
tual grasp, temperamental poise, and emotional 
control demanded nowhere else. 

Ill Temper a Handicap 

The ministry is a poor occupation for a quick- 
tempered man. He will have countless incentives 
to exercise his talent. Parishioners with hair- 
trigger tempers, set off by the slightest whiff of 
criticism or faintest suggestion of disagreement, 
250 



THE ITINERANT IN THE ITINERANCY 

will demand unruffled composure on the part of 
the pastor, however severe the provocation. 

Failure in Small Ministries 

An occasional preacher is obsessed with the 
idea that his pulpit is a throne, forgetting that 
thrones are made for kings, and that the small 
man who assumes regal prerogatives is both a 
joke and a tragedy. A few great preachers may 
affect indifference toward the countless minis- 
tries of the pastorate. The people may endure 
the neglect of which they are keenly conscious 
because of the extraordinary sermons to which 
they listen. To such a man the pulpit is a throne. 
But he is a king, and his kingdom would be more 
extensive and abiding if he came oftener in con- 
tact with the people on the lower levels of their 
actual life. 

A preacher dare not be ignorant of or indiffer- 
ent to the sorrows and misfortunes of his people. 
The arrows that pierce their breasts must enter 
his heart also. They must. Indifference will be 
fatal. He should sense trouble as the needle 
does the pole. If he is a natural recluse, living 
in the atmosphere of intellectual abstraction, he 
should deliberately cultivate methods of approach 
to the hearts of his people. They will endure 
little from him, and he can do little with them or 
for them, until throned in their affections. Min- 
251 



THE ITINERANCY 

istry in sorrow is never forgotten. It is the pas- 
tor's supreme opportunity. Accepted, it is the 
open-sesame to every heart; neglected, it creates 
a barrier which can never be removed. 

Another man, attentive in trouble, is neglectful 
of regular pastoral duties. It is easy to find ex- 
cuses for the things we do not like to do. And 
the preacher who is determined to remain out of 
the homes of his people can find many excuses for 
staying in his own. There are always a few sick 
folk that the preacher should visit the first Satur- 
day evening, Sabbath afternoon, or Monday morn- 
ing that he ministers to his new flock. Getting 
his own house in order is not nearly so important 
as getting into the homes where there is sickness 
or bereavement of any character. Every home 
should be entered before the summer vacation, 
and its valuable data tabulated. Within six 
months his reputation as a pastor will be made 
or marred. 

An occasional preacher is an adept in the gentle 
art of displeasing folks — and keeps his talent 
bright by exercise! To be foolishly fearless, in 
his estimation, is to be excessively religious — 
confounding religion and nonsense! While he 
should not shun to declare "the whole counsel 
of God," it should be done at the right time, in 
the right place, and in the right way. He should 
be sure that it is "the counsel of God," and not 
252 



THE ITINERANT IN THE ITINERANCY 

his personal prejudices, or ill-advised suspicions. 
He cannot do much with his people until they like 
him, and nothing when they dislike him. 

A pastor was conducting an agent of a church 
paper to the homes of his people. The matter was 
presented in a few words at the front door. If 
the subscription was secured, time was taken to 
write the name and address, the agent expressed 
his thanks, smiled pleasantly, and departed. If 
the subscription was refused, the agent frowned, 
turned abruptly away and entered his carriage. 
After this disagreeable episode had occurred 
several times, the pastor said : 

"See here, friend, it may be all right for you 
to turn away impatiently when people do not 
subscribe, and plainly show the resentment you 
evidently feel. You never expect to see them 
again, and whether you insult them or not is a 
matter of indifference to you. But I shall prob- 
ably have to live here for years, and cannot afford 
to alienate them over this matter. I must have 
time to end each interview amicably, especially 
when they do not subscribe." He grudgingly 
assented, but little improvement was noted in his 
personal conduct. 

Little mistakes in grammar, persistent mis- 
pronunciations, a commonplace sentence repeated 
ad nauseam will count heavily against a preacher. 
Trifling? Not at all. Perfection is built of 
253 



THE ITINERANCY 

trifles, and "perfection is no trifle." Does not the 
Good Book say something about the "little flies 
that spoil the ointment" ? And is it not true that 
the slightest deflection from the normal always 
tells heavily against the man who occupies a pub- 
lic position? A talented preacher had driven his 
congregation almost to distraction over the con- 
stant use of the personal pronoun. An exasper- 
ated parishioner declared that he had said "I" 
sixty-seven times in one sermon! The preacher 
was not egotistical, and would have been morti- 
fied by the revelation of his habit. The chief 
objection offered to another excellent man was 
his constant use of the phrase "along this line." 
No man can appear so often before a public con- 
gregation, and speak with such frequency and 
length, without exposure to criticism. These are 
curable defects. Great men get rid of them ; wise 
men listen to advice or are taught by experience, 
and improve with the years; but small men can- 
not see, or seeing, will not heed. 

Some preachers are deficient in the courtesies 
and conventionalities of life. They learn little 
by observation and contact. Their table manners 
are execrable. Guests must wait upon themselves 
or suffer the consequences. Some have not learned 
that a knife should not be put in one's mouth, or 
a spoon turned upside down and the bowl licked 
out, or that a fork should not be thrust across 
254 



THE ITINERANT IN THE ITINERANCY 

the table to spear an innocent potato or helpless 
slice of bread. It is hastily admitted that these 
offenses against good taste are rare. But that 
they should ever be committed is both unneces- 
sary and reprehensible. 

In other words, a preacher must not only be 
a Christian — the living embodiment of the word 
— but he must be a Christian gentleman. The 
crude manners of some of the fathers were de- 
plorable but excusable. If their advantages had 
been few, those to whom they ministered had been 
fewer. But backwoods manners must go with 
backwoods times, or those who cling to them must 
stay in the backwoods. Observation, to the ob- 
serving, is a great university, with keen-witted 
professors, difficult courses, and all too few stu- 
dents. Its curricula are stiff, its "exams" difficult, 
and its degrees must be earned. Never to ma- 
triculate is a misfortune; never to graduate, a 
crime. But to be an alumnus, ah! that is an 
honor possible to all, but achieved by few. 



255 



CHAPTER VIII 
THE PERILS OF THE ITINERANCY 

Life has its inexorable limitations. However 
much is possible, much more is impossible. But 
how foolish to attempt nothing because one can- 
not do everything! Life is divided between op- 
portunities and barriers. It is also true that 
every system, however efficient, has its limita- 
tions. Doing a thing one way, however wise, is 
never all-wise. It is not claimed that the itiner- 
ancy combines the advantages of all possible sys- 
tems, and avoids all their errors or weaknesses. 
The itinerancy developed along independent lines, 
hewing its own way to greatness, with no thought 
of copying the advantages or avoiding the defects 
of other systems. The itinerancy did not origi- 
nate in compromise and combination — a labored 
effort at inclusion and exclusion — but boldly 
struck out an independent course. Much of its 
power is owing to this fact. 

But efficiency and perfection are not synony- 
mous terms. If efficiency were impossible with- 
out perfection, much of the work of the world 
would remain undone. That the itinerancy is 
256 



THE PERILS OF THE ITINERANCY 

efficient is asserted, that it is perfect is not as- 
sumed. Hostile critics have made formidable 
catalogues of its theoretical weaknesses, but they 
have generally failed to materialize in practice. 
Let some of these "perils," alleged and real, be 
noted. 

Promotes Restlessness in the Churches 

The itinerancy knows nothing of "settled" pas- 
torates. When used by certain denominations 
this phraseology has an air of finality — more fre- 
quently in the language than the fact! The pas- 
tor is "called" for an indefinite period, and 
"settled" for years, perhaps for life. The contract 
is final, and both parties settle down to "make 
the best of it." The futility of criticism stifles 
its expression. Plans requiring years for con- 
summation can be slowly brought to fruition. 

The itinerancy easily voices discontent, how- 
ever slight. The pastor is appointed for a single 
year. He may remain indefinitely; he must un- 
dergo the ordeal of annual reappointment. Dis- 
sent may easily find expression. 

This peril, formidable in theory, is negligible in 
fact. The "settled" pastor — except in isolated 
survivals — is a legend. Nonitinerating preachers 
itinerate without an itinerancy! A difficult un- 
dertaking. 

The average pastorate in the itinerancy is 
257 



THE ITINEKANCY 

lengthening, while it is being significantly short- 
ened in certain nonitinerating systems. Indeed, 
many of the latter churches no longer "install" 
pastors, but engage supplies for definite periods, 
or who may be dismissed at any time upon due 
notice. The efficient itinerant remains until he 
is pleased to move. 

It is undeniable that the itinerancy "speeds 
up" the itinerant. The fact that he may be re- 
moved at the end of the year is not forgotten by 
the average man, and makes him anxious to 
deserve the privilege of remaining. The man who 
must do well to return will do better than the 
man who remains whether he does well or ill. 

Nor is it to be regretted that the churches de- 
mand an efficient ministry, and have the power of 
discipline if it is not realized. Efficiency is de- 
manded in every other sphere of life, why not in 
the ministry? Why should incompetency be pro- 
tected where the issues are so grave? Most posi- 
tions are not gratuities. Why should the ministry 
be an exception? Churches in the itinerancy are 
quick to recognize and reward merit, and more 
should not be required of any system. 

Encourages Intellectual Indolence 

It is charged that the itinerancy encourages 
mental sloth; that frequent removals make it 
possible to use the old sermons, and that when 
258 



THE PERILS OF THE ITINERANCY 

one has acquired a two, three, or four-years' 
course he may enjoy an intellectual vacation dur- 
ing the remaiuder of his ministry; and that he 
will avoid the patient mental plodding necessary 
to the man who may remaiu a lifetime, or must 
stay until he has a call elsewhere. 

There may have been force in this argument 
when the itinerancy operated under the short- 
term limit of one, two, or three years, but it is 
without significance in the itinerancy as at pres- 
ent constituted. The clock no longer protects 
the mental shirk. Efficiency is the present-day 
time limit, and it is natural for every man to push 
it as far into the future as possible. 

The capable man in the itinerancy remains just 
as long as his capable brother in any other sys- 
tem — until he is pleased to move or is desired 
elsewhere. The mental indolent lives in a moving 
truck, whatever the system. 

Selfishness in Administration 

It is sometimes assumed that the itinerancy 
must succumb to administrative difficulties. Sel- 
fishness in the minds of the administrators, even 
though reduced to the infinitesimal residuum, 
must ultimately wreck the system. The adminis- 
tration, always remaining in the hands of the 
ministry, must eventually grow intolerable to the 
churches. The Cabinet, being entirely composed 
259 



THE ITINERANCY 

of preachers, must always give a partisan de- 
cision. This will become unbearable, and cause 
the disintegration of the system. 

It has also been asserted that the average ap- 
pointment will not be based on merit, but upon 
favors already received or a lively anticipation 
of those to come. Those in authority will have 
friends to reward, enemies to punish, and a ma- 
chine to build and keep in repair. 

All of which is gross slander, existing only in 
the minds of hostile critics, and unrealized in 
one hundred and fifty years of itinerant history. 
It is inevitable that an occasional administration 
should evoke questions and misgivings; or that 
an ignorant, careless, or selfish administrator 
should compromise the system. But the attempt 
of a bishop or district superintendent to abuse 
the confidence of the church would be instantly 
thwarted. Such abuse could not be concealed, 
and the administrator would be quickly check- 
mated and ejected from his position. And if an 
entire Cabinet should enter into collusion (an 
unthinkable contingency) to prostitute its powers 
to selfish ends, it would not only sow to the winds, 
but soon reap the whirlwind. The whole process 
of appointment making is accompanied with too 
much publicity, and surrounded with too many 
checks and limitations, for any man or group of 
men to plan injustice, wreak vengeance, or dis- 
260 



THE PERILS OF THE ITINERANCY 

pose the preachers so as to perpetuate an un- 
worthy regime. The church must always have 
great men who will lead her embattled hosts to 
victory. But leaders necessitate leading men, 
clear in vision, decisive in opinion, safe in coun- 
sel, and influential in dictating decisions. That 
such men either could or would divert the high 
powers of the itinerancy to unworthy ends is both 
cheap slander and impossible in practice. 

Too Systematic 

The church has been charged with making a 
fetish of the itinerancy, and is indifferent to its 
defects. It is iron-clad, hide-bound, a militaristic 
method, hewing to one line always, untaught by 
its own failures, and unchanged to meet the vary- 
ing conditions in society; that it is method mad, 
and system run to seed, ruling with a rod of iron, 
and giving genius little opportunity for expres- 
sion. 

None acquainted with the history of the itiner- 
ancy can assert ignorance or indifference to its 
defects on the part of the church. Each General 
Conference has gone carefully over the entire 
system, and has not hesitated to make changes 
when deemed desirable. But the cardinal prin- 
ciple of the itinerancy — the possible annual rota- 
tion of all the preachers — has not been disturbed. 
26X 



THE ITINERANCY 

Not that all preachers either must or ought to 
change annually, but that they may do so should 
the emergency arise, is the pivot of the itinerancy. 
That system which enables one man to remain in 
one church a lifetime, and which, at the same 
time, makes it possible for him to be removed any 
hour, day, week, month, or year, is little less than 
inspired. It contains the two greatest possible 
benefits: variety and safety in administration. 

If to be efficient, if to get the utmost out of men 
of which they are capable is to be militaristic, 
then the itinerancy must plead guilty. If to keep 
men at one definite task through the workday 
of life be method-madness, and if to compel men 
to hew to the original line be system run to seed, 
then the itinerancy is the culprit at the bar. And 
as for ruling men with a rod of iron, none are 
ruled but the willing, and they soon learn that 
it is better to be tied up somewhere than to be 
adrift down the stream. 

A Governing Aristocracy 

The itinerancy demands too many rulers. Those 
elected for life form an ecclesiastical hierarchy — 
an idea detestable to Protestants — while those 
appointed for briefer periods are sure to abuse 
their short-lived power. Too few men have too 
much power. Those who do not have it scheme 
262 



THE PERILS OF THE ITINERANCY 

to get it, and those who have it plan to keep it; 
while those who can never have it become syco- 
phants at the feet of those who possess it. 

A dreadful picture, is it not? These things 
were prophesied of the itinerancy in the days of 
its infancy. How deplorable must be its condi- 
tion after the lapse of a century and a half ! This 
"ecclesiastical hierarchy" has had time to do its 
worst, and these official underlings have enjoyed 
many seasons for hatching their nefarious plots. 

Once more history shows that the pen of the 
hostile prophet is generally dipped in the ink of 
prejudice. The distressing evils seen by critical 
theorizers have never been realized. The itiner- 
ancy is too democratic, its operation kept too 
much in the open, and its operators held to too 
strict and too quick an accounting to permit the 
growth of prelatical tendencies, or the develop- 
ment of sinister scheming. The chief pastors of 
the itinerancy, the bishops, have never arrogated 
prerogatives that were not clearly granted by the 
constitution and custom of the church. And 
should they ever be so minded, retribution would 
be swift and unerring. The itinerancy is not gov- 
erned by "rulers," but directed by fellow itiner- 
ants in the episcopacy and district superintend- 
ency. Character and ability inevitably lead cer- 
tain men to posts of leadership. Differing ideas 
as to policy, and divergent judgments as to men 
263 



THE ITINERANCY 

fittest to hold the high places of power are the 
unavoidable sources of disagreement. But the 
same difficulties exist everywhere, in all churches, 
and in every organized branch of society. 

If the itinerancy were governed by "rulers" 
each session of an Annual Conference would have 
its aftermath of rebellious itinerants. Not that 
every man is satisfied at the close of an Annual 
Conference, but a commission of unbiased investi- 
gators would conclude that essential justice had 
been accorded to all. Most of them may have 
desired something different, and even a majority 
may have deemed themselves worthy of something 
better, but they have not been shifted about helter- 
skelter at the whim of an arbitrary hierarchy, or 
to accommodate the schemes of adroit politicians. 
Each man is about where you would expect to 
find him. If this were not true, every Conference 
would close with an indignation meeting, and the 
bishops would be kept busy through each year 
readjusting the appointments, and every year 
would witness the exodus of some of the finest 
men in the connection who would no longer sub- 
mit to the tyranny of irresponsible control. 

Elusive Responsibility 

Fixing the appointments is a matter of mys- 
tery, so the objection runs. No one can tell just 
264 



THE PERILS OF THE ITINERANCY 

who does it, how it is done, to whom credit be- 
longs, or upon whom censure should descend. In 
nonitinerant systems responsibility is direct and 
inescapable. The congregation assumes full re- 
sponsibility for its decision. But the itinerancy 
often leaves the matter undecided between the 
bishop, the district superintendent, the pastor, 
the Quarterly Conference, or a committee. If 
the outcome is satisfactory, each will modestly 
assume credit, but if disastrous, each will point 
to the other. Though not often given vocal ex- 
pression, there is unrest among the churches and 
preachers because of the secretive manner in 
which the appointments are made. 

Well, the appointments cannot be fixed in a 
town caucus, nor should they be submitted to 
discussion and revision by an Annual Conference. 
The Discipline provides a safe and sane method, 
assuring justice to all, and making the avoidance 
of responsibility impossible. The bishop may have 
taken the advice of another officer of the church, 
the district superintendent, or he may have ac- 
cepted the judgment of a committee representing 
the local unit, but in either case the adoption of 
a recommendation changes it into a personal 
decision. The bishop who does not know enough 
about his preachers, superintendents, and churches 
accurately to gauge the value of their advice can- 
not escape culpability. 

265 



THE ITINERANCY 

There are many cases where the responsibility 
really belongs to the local church or the district 
superintendent. The bishop will reluctantly ac- 
cept the judgment of the one or the other. In 
such cases he should be exculpated, the responsi- 
bility definitely located, and willingly assumed. 
Palpable efforts to avoid responsibility are few. 
Usually the church or the preacher will be told 
just why it was done, and why it could not have 
been otherwise. After all, there is something of 
far greater importance about the appointments 
than the location of responsibility : the certainty 
that, in the vast majority of cases, the right thing 
shall be done. This is the chief glory of the 
itinerancy. 

Nor can it be admitted that making the ap- 
pointments is surrounded with an air of mystery. 
While the appointments are not made in open 
Conference, the preachers know the trend of 
events in the Cabinet during the process of their 
incubation. Every preacher is down somewhere 
all the time. The superintendent will talk to him 
freely about the future, explaining the exact 
status, and asking his opinion in the event of 
certain contingencies. Occasionally a few radical 
changes will have to be made at the last moment, 
but even then brief counsultation and limited 
choice will be possible. Every effort is made to 
eliminate mystery and surprise. 
266 



THE PERILS OF THE ITINERANCY 

Difficulties Not Perils 

These discrepancies are difficulties in adminis- 
tration, rather than "perils" jeopardizing the suc- 
cess or threatening the life of the itinerancy. The 
pathway of achievement ever bristles with diffi- 
culties, and it would be unreasonable to expect 
the itinerancy to escape the common lot of men 
and methods. Difficulties are not inherent de- 
fects, nor does their existence always constitute 
a menace. That the itinerancy is well qualified 
to cope with these difficulties its long history 
illustrates. 

But it is only fair to say that the itinerancy, 
masterful as it has proven itself in every land 
and clime, is not without its perils. They cannot 
be eliminated by legislation, nor outgrown by 
experience. They are the legitimate offspring of 
the system, and will last while the itinerancy 
endures. To deny their existence would be futile; 
to recognize their existence, the best means to 
check their growth. 

A Significant Weakness 

The bishop is obliged to appoint every member 
of an Annual Conference to some field of labor. 
He can neither weed out the incompetents nor 
supplant them with more capable men. The 
itinerant has a life position, and the power of 
267 



THE ITINERANCY 

dismissal or nonemploynient, so long as he lives 
within the law, does not exist. This is the simple 
truth. 

It is seen at once that membership in an An- 
nual Conference is an asset worth while — a crown 
which no man can take away. Bishops, superin- 
tendents, Conferences, and churches are helpless. 
Once a member of an Annual Conference, a 
preacher must have an appointment, unless lo- 
cated for unacceptability, or the contravention 
of law will permit exclusion. This membership 
contains certain rights and privileges which must 
be recognized. The demand for employment can- 
not be denied. Unacceptable? It makes no dif- 
ference. Must he not always be thrust upon an 
unwilling congregation? It makes no difference. 
Does he not divide and weaken every charge, and 
is he not so constituted that improvement is im- 
possible? Granted. Everybody who knows the 
man will agree with you. But what are you 
going to do about it? You can grit your teeth 
and clench your fists, and first blow hot and then 
blow cold, but it will make no difference! This 
man is a member of an Annual Conference, and 
so long as he lives within the law, and stands 
upon his rights j he must have an appointment. 

This is the burden of the itinerancy — its great- 
est peril. Some men must be appointed year after 
year about whom only one question can be asked : 
268 



THE PERILS OF THE ITINERANCY 

Where can they do the least harm? To appoint 
men foredoomed to failure is a misfortune. 

The church early recognized this grievous defi- 
ciency, and after long sufferance, endeavored to 
provide a legal remedy. Provision was made 
whereby an unacceptable preacher, even though 
a member of an Annual Conference, might be 
located — in effect, left without an appointment, 
and without his consent. The paragraph in the 
Discipline of 1916 reads as follows: 

"When it is alleged of a member of an Annual Con- 
ference that he is so unacceptable or inefficient as to 
be no longer useful in his work, or that, without reason 
of impaired health of himself or his family disqualify- 
ing him for pastoral work, he engages in secular busi- 
ness, his case shall be referred to a committee of five 
or more members of his Conference for inquiry; and 
if said committee shall find the allegations sustained, 
and shall so recommend, the Conference shall request 
him to locate. If he shall refuse, and the conditions com- 
plained of continue, the Conference, at its next session, 
after formal trial and conviction, may locate him with- 
out his consent. But he shall have the right of appeal 
to a Judicial Conference." 

It will be seen at once that this law is ap- 
plicable only to extreme cases of nonefficiency, 
and even then every right of the accused is jeal- 
ously safeguarded. That it is seldom invoked 
proves that it is less drastic than could be desired. 

At this point nonitinerant systems score 
269 



THE ITINERANCY 

heavily. Only the fittest survive. The man with- 
out a call is like the man without a country — at 
the end of his resources. No one is charged with 
the obligation of finding him a church, and no 
congregation is in duty bound to accept his 
services. He automatically retires to private 
life. 

Of course there are certain extra-legal, but 
legitimate processes of elimination which the 
church has employed. Such men are generally 
kept where they can do the least harm. When 
they see that improvement is impossible, they 
are often discouraged into finding other employ- 
ment. 

The district superintendent may deal faithfully 
with the derelicts, but soon finds that it is un- 
availing. As well try to start a fire with rain- 
soaked ashes as to teach a natural defective how 
to become an effective minister. 'Twere just as 
easy to raise potatoes with words, hoe corn with 
phrases, or catch fish with adjectives! If a man 
does not know how to make shoes, he can be 
taught ; if he does not know how to build a fence, 
he may practice until proficient, but the man 
who does not know how to be a minister can 
never be taught. Its secrets are sensed, not 
learned. Instead of tinkering the teapot with a 
thousand leaks, the district superintendent owes 
it to his church and to the cause which he repre- 
270 



THE PERILS OF THE ITINERANCY 

sents to get these men back into private life at 
the earliest possible moment. 

It may be urged that the doors of the Annual 
Conference should be carefully guarded, that 
Quarterly Conferences and district superintend- 
ents should exercise great caution in recommend- 
ing candidates for admission. Agreed; but the 
future often eludes closest scrutiny. Time plays 
curious pranks with human judgments. The 
scarcely admitted often cut wide swaths in the 
harvest field, while the loudly acclaimed faint 
with weariness under the mere "heft" of the 
cradle. Life is a curious chancery, and an An- 
nual Conference cannot always tell what the 
future holds in store when a young man stands 
at the door, hat in hand, begging admission. Cer- 
tificates, diplomas, and the golden words of 
optimistic sponsors may be true as to the past, 
but astray as to the future. The Conference can 
only exercise its best judgment, and take the risk. 

Too Many Scapegoats 

The itinerancy makes it easy for incompetency 
to "put the blame elsewhere." The disappointed 
preacher may loudly acclaim himself the victim 
of administrative injustice. Bishops have been 
unreasonable and successive superintendents have 
plotted his downfall or conspired against his 
advancement. 

271 



THE ITINERANCY 

Nonitinerant systems offer no such handy 
refuge. Failure suffers its own reward. There 
are no responsible authorities, in theory or fact. 
If successful, the honor is undivided ; if a failure, 
the responsibility is unavoidable. Every mariner 
pilots his own craft. If he gets into shoal water, 
and finally strands upon the beach, he cannot sue 
the pilot unless, indeed, he institutes action 
against himself. The nonitinerant system takes 
a man into mid-stream, politely conducts him to 
the taffrail, and bids him plunge in. If he can 
swim, that is his good fortune; if he sinks, it is 
too bad, but no one is to blame. The itinerancy 
would throw him an Episcopal Life Preserver, 
and would then put him into the hands of a super- 
intendent charged with the duty of teaching him 
how to swim. Congregationalism gives a man the 
opportunity to make the most out of himself, 
while the itinerancy makes the most out of the 
man. 

This is the reason one will find critical itiner- 
ants. They may really have fared better in the 
itinerancy than under any other possible system. 
They have been coached, protected, endured, and 
patiently moved about in various types of ap- 
pointments, but to no avail. Perhaps it would be 
unreasonable to expect them to locate the diffi- 
culty. It is so easy to lose the trail when it gets 
near home! And it is curious how men like to 
272 



THE PERILS OF THE ITINERANCY 

go up to their neighbor's front door and say, "The 
culprit lives here." The saddest part about it is 
the conviction that they are right! 

No one can enlighten such a man. His best 
friends do not like to tell him the whole truth. 
The very attempt will sever the ties of friendship. 
Their motives will be misunderstood and their 
alleged treachery denounced. Unless one's most 
serious defects are self -seen they can never be 
known. And he who attempts to enlighten an- 
other will not only show his own ignorance, but 
sow nettles before his unshod feet. 

It is freely admitted that bishops and superin- 
tendents make mistakes, serious in nature and 
far-reaching in their consequences. But that any 
itinerant is the victim of intentional injustice, 
deliberately planned and insistently continued, 
is unthinkable. In a system where all the proc- 
esses are known and scrutinized it is impossible. 



273 



CHAPTER IX 
ACCIDENT OK PROVIDENCE? 

Which alternative do the facts justify? After 
traversing the entire territory of the itinerancy, 
its origin, development, achievements, operation, 
difficulties, and perils, which conclusion is in- 
evitable — accidental or providential? 

If an accident, it was both fortunate and un- 
usual. An accident is "something that takes 
place without one's foresight or expectation." 
The itinerancy was not the result of "foresight or 
expectation" on the part of any human being — ■ 
not even Wesley's. But that does not make the 
itinerancy an accident. Instead of stumbling 
upon the itinerancy, it is believed that Wesley 
was led into it. The very absence of human "fore- 
sight or expectation" indicates that such an event 
must have originated in the Divine Mind. 

If the itinerancy is the child of Providence, 
there should be simple, indisputable data upon 
which to base the conclusion. Providential events 
cannot be established by astute processes of rea- 
soning. The evidence must be of such character 
and abundance that "he who runs may read." 
Does such evidence exist in connection with the 
274 



ACCIDENT OR PEOVIDENCE? 

origin and development of the itinerancy? It 
is thought so. 

The New Testament will be searched in vain for 
an inspired polity. None was left by our Lord, 
and none was given the stamp of apostolic au- 
thority. In this particular there is a radical 
difference between the Old and New Testaments. 
The Old Testament church was intended for a 
single nation, just emerging from slavery, cursed 
by the low ideals and bitter memories of a long 
and debasing bondage. Everything had to be 
carefully specified. 

The New Testament church was to be ages long 
and nations wide — for all times, peoples, and 
tongues. Therefore no system of administration 
would be capable of universal adaptability. 
Varying types of civilization, different concep- 
tions of truth, and divergent interpretations of 
the same truth would demand different adminis- 
trative forms. The New Testament deals in 
principles, germinal truths, fundamental facts. 
Their organization into definite forms for propa- 
ganda is wisely left to the varying needs of times 
and peoples. 

Jesus pursued one method in disseminating the 
truth, but he did not bind all his followers, in 
all times and climes, to the same method. His 
method was the best for himself, his age, his 
opportunities. 

275 



THE ITINERANCY 

The apostles seized the best means at hand to 
publish the truth, and the infant church assumed 
such organized form as circumstances warranted, 
but nothing was said about these forms being 
binding upon future generations of Christians. 

The organization of the Old Testament church 
was adapted to the accomplishment of its definite 
task. The adoption of a rigid and minute ritual, 
and committing it to unchangeableness in or- 
ganization, confined it forever to a single people. 
It could never be anything but the church of 
the Jewish nation. Nor did it have a wider 
mission. It was to prepare the way for some- 
thing better. 

In the fullness of time the preparatory and 
passing — the Jewish Church — was succeeded by 
the final and indestructible — the Christian 
Church. But Christianity is without inspired 
ritual, ceremonies, or polity. This omission is 
intentional, not accidental. A polity suited to 
the year A. D. 1950 would have been a misfit in 
the year A. D. 50. The new church was to fit the 
universal mind, appeal to the universal heart, 
and stir the universal conscience. Its appeal was 
not to be limited by being shut up to certain 
eternally unchangeable formulas, modes of wor- 
ship, or methods of organization. 

In assuming, therefore, the providential origin 
and development of the itinerancy it is not inti- 
276 



ACCIDENT OR PROVIDENCE? 

mated that other systems are without divine 
sanction. The opposite is sincerely believed. 
And it is altogether likely that other methods 
of organization, undreamed of to-day, will be 
providentially developed in future ages. 

But what facts suggest the providential origin 
and development of the itinerancy? 

1. It came in the fullness of time. It was not 
born too soon nor yet too late. Had it been the 
child of prophecy, its advent could not have been 
more auspicious. Existing methods could not 
cope with the perils surrounding the Christian 
Church of the eighteenth century. Methods of 
ministerial supply were stereotyped, inelastic, 
and sterile. The whole world was aquiver with 
new ideas. Human thought was overleaping 
ancient boundaries. Nations were migrating and 
new civilizations were developing in the distant 
parts of the habitable world. Existing methods 
of religious propaganda were inadequate. The 
times were portentous with religious peril. The 
church was timidly facing an uncertain future. 
Bishop Burnet declared that he was ''oppressed 
night and day" with "sad thoughts" on the pros- 
pects of Christianity in the realm. "I cannot," 
he adds, "look on without the deepest concern, 
when I see the imminent ruin hanging over this 
church, and, by consequence, over the whole 
reformation. The outward state of things is black 
277 



THE ITINERANCY 

enough, God knows ; but that which heightens my 
fears rises chiefly from the inward state into 
which we are unhappily fallen." Isaac Watts 
sent out a clarion call for ''the recovery of dying 
religion in the world." The intellectual leaders 
of the nation were either indifferent or openly 
hostile. Hobbs, Tindale, Bolingbroke, Hume, and 
Gibbon, among the mightiest leaders of skepti- 
cism in all time, were guiding the higher classes 
of society in revolt against Christianity. The 
situation could be saved only by a counter revolu- 
tion among the common people. 

Religion needed a new appeal and a new 
method. Methodism supplied both! The appeal 
must be to the masses, and the method adapted to 
their needs. The appeal without the method 
would be like seed without soil, while the method 
without the appeal would be like soil without 
seed. The unforeseen itinerancy was the provi- 
dential method for the diffusion of the new ap- 
peal. The systematized wanderings of the itiner- 
ants brought religion into the home life of the 
common people throughout the English-speaking 
world. Without the itinerancy the preaching of 
John Wesley and George Whitefield would 
scarcely have created a ripple upon the surface 
of human affairs. 

The situation in America was none the less 
critical. Infidelity was rampant in the centers 
278 



ACCIDENT OR PROVIDENCE? 

of learning, where many undergraduates were 
proudly calling themselves after the moral mon- 
strosities of the French Revolution. Many of the 
leaders of the new nation had been powerfully 
affected by the continental drift from Chris- 
tianity, and while not avowed atheists, were 
skeptical of Christianity. Infidelity was strong 
in the cities, where its baneful literature had 
secured wide circulation, while the wilderness 
was being settled with a population largely with- 
out religious training, convictions, or opportuni- 
ties. The situation was deplorable when the 
itinerants began to thread their perilous way 
through the primeval forests in search of the lost 
sheep. Fifty years later would have been too 
late; a hundred years later and the tragedy of 
an irreligious continent could hardly have been 
avoided. If the early itinerants had come directly 
from the skies, their appearance could not have 
been more opportune; and if the itinerancy had 
been revealed to some American Moses, it could 
not have been better adapted to meet the exacting 
conditions of the New World. 

2. The itinerancy was providential in its mode 
of operation. It was neither a modification nor 
an elaboration of other systems, but an entirely 
new departure. It was not a mosaic pieced to- 
gether out of the best of existing systems, but a 
new creation. 

279 



THE ITINERANCY 

(1) It introduced the principle of scientific 
rotation and oversight into religious work. In- 
stead of settling a young man over a single con- 
gregation and leaving him severely alone with all 
his tasks and problems, without investigation, 
suggestion, or the power of correction, the itiner- 
ancy provided official overseers, and, by terminat- 
ing each pastorate annually, introduced variety 
and efficiency in administration. 

If the itinerancy were built to-day by a modern 
efficiency expert, it is difficult to see how it could 
be improved. No man is employed indefinitely by 
a congregation because it cannot get rid of him 
without risking disruption. The itinerancy does 
not depend upon written reports, but sends a liv- 
ing investigator, and one who is much more than 
a tabulator of statistical data. It knows where 
its most distant preachers are located, how well 
they are doing, whether they could do better else- 
where, and where. 

(2) The itinerancy permitted the employment 
of men with moderate gifts. Its earliest triumphs 
were mainly won by men who could have accom- 
plished little in any other system. It has always 
utilized the man with a single talent. Men whose 
natural gifts and intellectual equipment would 
not have permitted an indefinite pastorate any- 
where turned thousands toward the cross as they 
swept back and forth over their great circuits. 

280 



ACCIDENT OR PROVIDENCE? 

(3) It eliminated waste through nonemploy- 
ment. The early itinerants did not confine their 
labors to the Sabbath day. They preached every 
day — whenever an appointment could be made 
or a congregation gathered. The modern itiner- 
ant may not preach so often, but he is continu- 
ously employed from the time he enters the Con- 
ference until his distant retirement. He wastes 
no time candidating, and loses no strength worry- 
ing about the possibility of future employment. 

(4) It cultivates pastoral evangelism. Few 
men in the ministry are capable of indefinite 
evangelism in the same church or community. 
One mind can present the truth in only one way, 
and that way, however novel or forceful, loses 
power through repetition. A new personality 
appeals to a new constituency, which naturally 
becomes limited by time. There is an element 
of persuasiveness in a new face and voice which 
is gradually lost with the years. The itinerancy 
does not make these conditions, but recognizes 
their existence, and prepares to meet them. 

(5) It avoids decadence over prolonged dis- 
agreement with or about preachers. A congrega- 
tion seldom becomes embroiled over the retention 
or removal of an itinerant. If wanted, he stays; 
if not wanted, he can go without shame to him- 
self, injury to the church, or serious embarrass- 
ment to his future ministry. 

281 



THE ITINERANCY 

(6) Its ministerial fecundity has been the 
marvel of men. It has, without self-impoverish- 
ment, replenished the depleted arteries of sis- 
ter denominations. It has always been served by 
an indigenous ministry. The preservation of its 
militancy, peculiar phraseology, and spiritual 
earnestness is largely due to this fact. Its min- 
istry is not an admixture of diversive beliefs or 
antagonistic ideals. Every type of mind and 
variety of talent is found in the itinerancy, but 
all are animated by the same purpose. 

To suppose that a system so new, so unantici- 
pated, and so unexpectedly adapted to universal 
conditions should be a mere accident is unthink- 
able. 

3. The perils escaped by the itinerancy indi- 
cate providential guidance. The system did not 
spring from any human mind, not even Wesley's. 
The plan was not thought out, but the men with 
whom it originated were thrust out to tell the 
wonderful things God had done for their souls. 
Wesley, quick to see and swift to follow the 
indications of Providence, seized and systema- 
tized the new agency. That is to say, the itiner- 
ancy was accepted and utilized, not created. In 
this significant fact the hand of Providence is 
clearly seen. If thought of, it would have been 
rejected as an impossibility. But coming quietly, 
like zephyrs in the springtime, the winter of 
282 



ACCIDENT OR PROVIDENCE? 

Christianity's peril was soon changed into the 
glorious season of promise and power. 

Experience with the itinerancy gradually pre- 
pared the mind of Wesley to give American 
Methodism an episcopal form of government. 
While Wesley lived English Methodism, on 
its human side, was the product of one mind, 
while American Methodism, up to the Christmas 
Conference of 1784, was the joint product of the 
decisions and advice of Wesley and the skill- 
ful enginery of Francis Asbury. But everything 
was in a tentative state. It was only a society, 
uncertain of its rights and nervous about the 
future. The preachers were growing restless un- 
der the rigid rule of Asbury, and there were 
not wanting suggestions of its curtailment. The 
arrival of Thomas Coke from England, the or- 
ganization of the church, and the ordination of 
Francis Asbury to the office of bishop forever 
fixed the polity of American Methodism. It 
meant the perpetuation of the power of appoint- 
ment in the hands of one man. If this power had 
once been divided, its future restoration would 
have been doubtful, and it is believed that the 
history of American Methodism would have been 
essentially different. The hand of Providence was 
in these historic events. 

Why did the Christmas Conference ordain only 
twelve men? The people had long clamored for 
283 



THE ITINERANCY 

the sacraments, and the preachers had been eager 
to administer them. When the way was finally 
open, why were not all the preachers ordained? 
It is apparent that the presiding eldership would 
never have been known if this had been done, or 
if even a large portion of the ministers had been 
permitted to administer the sacraments. The 
ordination of only twelve men, whatever may 
have been the reasons advanced at the time, gave 
birth to the presiding eldership. Once more the 
hand of man was not seen, and the conclusion is 
irresistible that Providence willed this strong 
arm of service upon the body of the church. 

It was scarcely to be expected that the posses- 
sion of supreme poAver by the bishops in station- 
ing the preachers should go unchallenged, espe* 
cially among so democratic a folk as the Meth- 
odists. For thirty-five years the controversy 
smoldered, and then burst into a flame that 
threatened the entire edifice. It was proposed 
either to abolish the episcopacy or reduce its 
powers to zero. But the flames that threatened 
so much did so little, and the episcopacy came 
through the ordeal firmly rooted in the life of the 
church. 

The unexpected settlement of the long contro- 
versy concerning an elective presiding eldership 
is considered providential. A majority of the 
delegates in the General Conference of 1820 had 

284 



ACCIDENT OR PROVIDENCE? 

been elected because they favored an elective 
eldership. No sooner had the Conference as- 
sembled than this became apparent. A compro- 
mise committee, composed of three advocates of 
the change, three of its opponents, and the three 
bishops, McKendree, George, and Roberts, was 
appointed. The report of this committee pro- 
vided that the bishop should nominate three men 
for each vacant district, and the Conference 
should proceed to elect without debate. After a 
brief discussion this astonishing proposition was 
adopted by a vote of sixty-one to twenty-live! 
The question had been settled, apparently for- 
ever, and the wrong way. Only drastic failure 
could ever force a repeal. So it seemed, but the 
unexpected happened. 

Joshua Soule, who had been elected to the epis- 
copacy a week before this action had been taken, 
declined ordination, alleging that the new legis- 
lation was unconstitutional, in that it tended to 
"do away episcopacy," by depriving the bishops 
of an important part of the power placed in their 
hands for the good of the church. The Confer- 
ence accepted the resignation, its opinion remain- 
ing unchanged. 

Bishop McKendree, who had been prevented by 
feeble health from attending the meetings of the 
"compromise committee," came before the Con- 
ference with a formal protest against the new 
285 



THE ITINERANCY 

measure, as being contrary to the Restrictive 
Rules and subversive of an efficient itinerancy. 
His appeal made a profound impression, but the 
determination of the Conference remained un- 
shaken. However, after a lengthy debate, the 
operation of the new law was suspended for a 
period of four years. The General Conference of 
1824 continued this suspension, even though 
many of its delegates had been elected because 
they favored the new law. Public interest in the 
subject seems to have waned, and the law was 
repealed by the General Conference of 1828. 

The escape of the church from the evils of an 
elective presiding eldership was providential. It 
would have been a hazardous experiment, auto- 
matically introducing strife and perpetuating 
controversy in the church. 

But enough. It was said by One in the olden 
time, "By their fruits ye shall know them." The 
itinerancy can ask no better fate than to be 
judged by this standard. What has it done? 
What is it doing? What are its prospects for 
future achievement? Born in an atmosphere of 
ridicule and hostility, scorned by other systems 
as fantastic and temporary, using such instru- 
mentalities as were available, reaching out its 
hands ever to the common folk of the race, it has 
crossed the seas, traversed the continents, led 
millions of earth's sin-cursed inhabitants to the 

286 



ACCIDENT OR PROVIDENCE? 

foot of the cross, and bids fair to become one of 
the mightiest moral forces working for the re- 
generation of the race. 

Providential ? How could the evidence be more 
conclusive? Undoubtedly, the answer must be 
"Yes!" 



287 



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